A Pet Wizard
by Qaint
Summary: After Harry's fourth year, he is summoned as Louise's familiar instead of Saito. A boy who has faced prejudice and elitism all his life is thrown into the magical feudal society of Halkegenia. Separated from his former friends in an academy filled with aristocrats for whom heritage equals power, Harry will need all of his wits to find a way home.
1. 1: Meeting

**_Meeting_**

* * *

Harry was sitting in his bed trying to relax in his room back home at the Dursleys. He had no chores for the moment and had thusly been exiled to his humble room as per the Dursleys usual way of trying to pretend he either didn't exist or was to be ignored at all cost. It was a little phase the Dursleys went through when Harry suddenly reentered their life each year, marking the beginnings of the holidays. Harry was not so much fine with the treatment as he was truly indifferent. He had reached a point where he'd stopped taking them into consideration outside the bare necessities. He was far too absorbed in his own experiences to truly deal with them.

But Harry couldn't relax and it wasn't the spartan feel of his personal quarters, which he'd long ago grown accustomed to. He could simply never truly relax when he was 'home' at the Dursleys. 'Home' had always been a loose flighty subject for him. And yet, being here was where he was supposedly farthest from all his problems. No wizarding world, no students whispering behind his back, no Voldemort trying to kill him. He should be feeling relieved, not stressed and suffering with survivors' guilt.

Across the infinity, another individual was struggling with her own problems. The individual, a girl with vibrant pink hair, was set upon her first step into adult mage-hood It was supposed to be an exciting day which had vital impact upon the rest of their lives. And for most it this held true. Yet not for this individual. Feelings of anger at herself and the world from her lack of accomplishments mixed with desperate glimmers of a fools hope that today things would somehow be different. She did not wish to be a laughingstock again today. She focused her will and lifted her wand in preparation of the ritual to summon her familiar with one last prayer on her mind.

_"Please work."_

Cedric wore heavily on Harry's mind. As he had for the past several days. He'd almost gone numb to the feeling his name brought to mind. Except the feeling of having failed him. That was an improvement, he'd decided grimly. Perhaps the biggest problems he faced wasn't the wizarding world itself but instead what he brought back with him in his mind, he mused. Harry had come to terms with the fact that he might have slightly more 'baggage' than his peers a long time ago.

_"My servant that exists somewhere in this vast universe."_

Though he usually kept a tight lid on it in everyday matters, this didn't surprise Harry at all. After all, he had been one of few that had been extra vulnerable to the presence of a dementor. Harry mentally shuddered at the memories.

_"My divine, beautiful, wise and powerful servant! Heed my call!"_

Harry adopted a thoughtful frown. If a dementor appeared now would he still hear his mother's distant screaming or Voldemorts revival? Maybe something about Cedric? Perhaps a mix? Now that was a scary thought. He hoped not. A strange shift in the air suddenly demanded all of Harry's attention and he grabbed his wand from his nightstand, not that he could identify the strange sensation that had washed over the room. A small feeling of comfort reinforced his fried nerves as he clenched his wand. Yet seconds passed in complete silence.

_"I wish and assert from the very bottom of my heart. Answer my guidance and appear!"_

He had all but written it off when he noted that the whole world had gone silent outside his room. The Dursleys were never this quiet. There was always the constant background noise of either Dudley or the television, which were the only thing to this day that had quieted his cousin for an extended period of time. Slowly, almost without Harry noticing a green glow started emitting from the middle of Harry's room and coalesced into a large green orb which could only be magical in nature.

Harry was vary, more so than ever. This could be another trick from Voldemort now that he was back and he wasn't keen on being teleported anywhere against his will again like the year he'd just passed or perhaps, melted or whatever it could do. Backing up, he gave the green orb plenty of space as he crept along the wall and found one of Dudley's old socks, an old christmas present, and threw it at the orb. It passed harmlessly through and Harry silently smote his secret wish of watching the little piece of clothing burn to a crisp.

_'I've got problems'_, he thought with a grin as he loosened his guard a bit. The orb just kept lazily drifting in place.

He considered it for a moment. He would have to contact Dumbledore about this. But first he would have to sneak by it before anything happened. It was blocking his exit and he wasn't keen on getting any closer.

Then before he could blink, he was being dragged towards the orb by an unseen force. With nothing to grab on to and gravity apparently working against him, he was quickly pulled into the orb before even having the chance to curse his own stupidity. Or was it perhaps his curiosity who was more at guilt? In time he'd probably damn them both, he decided.

_'If I live through this,'_ he thought. Then he felt like he was falling as he saw an entire galaxy before him. Then he blacked out.

* * *

Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière stared down on the ground in front of her in disbelief.

She had hoped for just the tiniest second that this time would be different. That today she would cast a complex spell successfully and show everyone how they had been wrong about her. But as she cast the spell, she was met with utter disappointment for daring to hope. Disappointment taking the form of the infamous explosion that seemed to signify her attempts at sorcery.

She'd quickly recovered from the explosion. She grimly noted that she was becoming used to them, though they didn't have all that much of a kick to begin with. Even her explosions were faillures as explosions go. However as the smoke evaporated, what shocked her was what now occupied the space before her. She had summoned something. But what she had summoned was in no way divine, beautiful or wise. It was just a boy. And likely a peasant to boot if you judged the way he was dressed.

A pair of blue trousers which looked suited for work in the fields or down in the mines along with a baggy gray shirt of a woven material which was way too large for the boy. Hand-me-downs, she guessed. Wild unruly black hair framed a bespectacled face. Glasses weren't that uncommon even amongst the common people. A small scar in the shape of a lightning bolt or perhaps a rune marked his forehead. Possibly work related.

All signs were screamed out that he was a peasant.

She sighed in disappointment.

Gauging from the murmurs around her the students had seemingly come to the same conclusion. She felt an uncomfortably queasy feeling in her stomach at that.

He was apparently not fully conscious, but appeared to be waking up. As soon as he appeared lucid she stared down upon her next great humiliation before she spoke with a demanding tone.

* * *

"Who are you, peasant?"

Harry didn't understand a word. He blinked in surprise before shielding his eyes against the sun. England was rarely this sunny at this time of year and it was definitely not what he'd seen in the forecast that morning. A big castle nearby was also a strange if not unwelcome sight.

It had been late evening last when he'd disappeared from Little Whinging. What had happened, he wondered? With a start he realized what the weird orb in his room had been. _A portal!_

Harry grew tense instantly. He had bad experiences with being suddenly teleported somewhere against his will. However it was hard to stay picture this as the crux of a dark plot. The non-threatening serenity of this place overtook him as he took everything in. This certainly wasn't Voldemort's doing. Voldemort was far too egotistical to not make a show out of it. No death eaters or dark rituals in the corners. Only what looked like a gathering of young wizards and witches on the grounds of the castle on a sunny day. Not at all a scene that couldn't have played out at Hogwarts. He took a drawn out breath to calm his nerves. Whether he was wrong or not he needed to keep calm.

"Don't you understand our language? Where do you come from?" Louise tried again. He snapped back to look at her.

Again Harry couldn't understand a single word she said as she towered over him. Taking her looks in, he gaped stupidly. Long pink hair that stretched beyond her waistline, even if said person wasn't very tall, was an eyeopener even on his best days. And that was after having seen dragons, veela and many other shocking phenomena. He hadn't at that point currently met someone with pink hair, albeit it would only have been a matter of time, he supposed. And it wasn't as jarring as one would expect. It suited her, he would later admit, but all that was hardly on his mind at the moment.

"Where am I?" he asked. If he wasn't in any immediate danger, then he'd need some answers. And if he wasn't in trouble then he would likely get his answers, if he could overcome this language barrier. Luckily, most of the world had at least a few English speakers at hand in these times. Unfortunately for Harry though, this wasn't any part of 'most of the world'.

She stared back at him in confusion at his lack of an understandable answer. Then she frowned. She hadn't understood a word he said.

Now everyone was staring at him and the pinkette. It was discomforting but he felt way too tired to even stand up, so he just sat there trying to figure things out. His wand felt like a poor defense at the moment if they decided to do anything funny.

He sat and watched as a redheaded girl said something to the pink haired girl and everyone seemed to laugh at her expense. That eased him somewhat. It reeked of school life. If she'd somehow summoned him here accidentally, then it should be easy to convince them to send him back. He mind even write this off as a vacation if the weather was this nice.

Though the fact that he could possibly be summoned like this was a dangerous thought. Perhaps Hermione or Dumbledore would know how she did it and more importantly, how to prevent it from happening again.

* * *

Louise's cheeks flared up hotly at the Germanian girl's insult on her magic proficiency.

"Shut up!" she told off her classmate before turning to their teacher. "Mr. Colbert! Can I please redo the spell?"

Harry watched with interest as the short pink haired girl argued with the teacher amidst her the laughter of her class. He could easily deduce a likely scenario of what had happened. He had likely been summoned here by mistake and the girl was the one who had summoned him here. Now they were likely discussing what to do about it. And about the language, he thought it sounded oddly like french. Perhaps this was the french magic academy of Beauxbatons? They certainly sounded the part. He didn't recognize the students here but he could hardly claim to know more than a few faces from that school. Yet they should have known his and recognized him on the spot. He hadn't heard a single exclamation of "Harry Potter" as of yet. That was definitely new territory for him.

But if this was Beauxbatons, then their curriculum was off. The schoolyear was supposed to have just ended, unless they did it differently here.

Meanwhile Louise had finally submitted herself to her fate. Professor Colbert would neither allow her to stop the ritual or to reattempt it. She was stuck with that boy. She scowled at him, which he responded to with a quizzical look. She would have to assert herself if she was to ensure his obedience. A familiar was a mark of a real mage and being in control of that familiar was paramount, common language or not. Mages with animal familiars didn't have any problems, so neither would she allow any mistake.

"You should be thankful for this. Normally someone of noble birth would never do something like this for a peasant boy," she muttered, despite knowing he wouldn't under stand. She raised her wand.

"My name is Louise Françouise le Blanc de la Vallière."

She flicked her wand and pointed it at his forehead for a moment, who shirked back, before kneeing down to his eye level to continue the ritual.

"Oh Pentagon that rules the five powers. Bless this individual and make him my familiar."

She snaked her arm around his neck and locked eyes with him. He was blushing like mad, not that she blamed him. This was pretty groundbreaking for her as well. Without further ado she kissed him on the mouth, thus sealing the contract. Having done everything that was necessary, she broke contact and stood back up.

* * *

Harry's mind had been turned to goo. He had always secretly prided himself on his decisiveness and quick wit when in danger. But with a girl bending down to kiss him he'd been powerless to stop her. When she'd pointed her wand at him he'd redrawn his wand, but she had just as quickly withdrawn hers. Instead she had leaned in to kiss him, freezing him in place with his wand forgotten in his hand.

As he caught himself his confusion bled away to embarrassment at his situation and he tried to pick himself up off the ground. However midway he stumbled and fell on his ass. His arm felt like it was burning and he gasped in pain. He felt something foreign flood his system from his hand and then something inside him reacted to it and it brought a sensation of pain flowing through his every being. That was more than a little painful but Harry merely gritted his teeth, trying to figure out what was happening. The various wizards were looking dully at him.

_'No help there apparently,'_ he thought with a glare. His paranoia was back in full force and screaming in his head. This wasn't an accident. It was premeditated.

Then the sensation reached his scar and his scar felt as if hot embers had been pressed on his forehead. That was when he passed out.

* * *

When Harry woke again the first thing he noticed was that the ceiling wasn't white as he was used to at Hogwarts' hospital wing but a dark wooden brown. He didn't like the change. The second and in a very close third was that he had apparently been sleeping on some hay and that his back was very sore because of that. He slowly sat up. The place reminded him of his dorm room. Only bigger and apparently for individuals. And lots of room for a desk and all the other things a real homely room might need, instead of a place for a trunk at the end of the bed.

_"_So you finally decided to wake up._"_ A voice said in a language he couldn't decipher. The girl with the pink hair from earlier, he saw. He felt angry. This girl had kidnapped him with some spell and then cursed him with a kiss! He clenched his hand around his...

_"Where's my wand?" _He thought in panic. He began rummaging after his wand.

_"_Looking for this?" the same voice said again with a hint of curiosity. Now Harry might not have understood what she said, but he knew exactly what she had meant. He glared up at her, not surprised that she held _his_ wand between her fingers.

"Give it back", he said as forcefully as he could. He knew she couldn't understand him but the intent was clear. He made a rising move and she immediately retreated a few steps back out of reach and pulled out her own wand. She began talking in that weird language again. He stood up fully and tried again to tell her but she didn't budge, simply retreating a step back each time he took a slow step towards her. This wasn't working, he realized. He couldn't attack someone armed with a wand head on and expect to win. And diplomacy when they were unable to communicate was an almost hopeless endeavor. But he had to try something.

"Look, I really need that wand. I don't know where I am and I need to get home so I can," he pleaded. The pinkette looked at him strangely, but she was not budging.

From Louise's perspective the boy was an enigma. He was definitely more interesting than the eyes let on. Peasant or not, the wand she had found after he passed out was important to him. And she was beginning to believe he might perhaps even be able to use magic. Why he was dressed like a peasant then was a mystery. Potential good news aside though, she had no way of controlling her familiar with the current language barrier. He had been very resolute up until a second ago but now he'd clearly started a new approach. Was he pleading with her?

She arched an eyebrow.

_'Definitely not a noble,'_ she scoffed. However in that moment of distraction Harry sprang forward. With no actual defense and thoroughly surprised, Louise was hit with the full force of Harry's momentum. With a shriek she fell on her back with the boy on top as he grappled with her for his stick. Louise flailed and kicked wildly, but he easily clawed the wand out of her hand. Acting out in panic, she put her wand to his chest and cast half of the first spell that came to mind. As expected, it produced an explosion which shocked him enough that she could push him off of her. She quickly pushed herself as far away from him as possible, pointing her wand in his vague direction all the while.

* * *

Harry groaned as he took to his head. This girl could be dangerous after all. Said girl, was cowering in the corner, shaking her wand at him. The sight did not reinforce his belief of having been captured by evil dark wizards, but neither did it really explain anything else.

"Stay back!" she yelled at him in a slight panic. That's when he realized that he could suddenly understand her and stalled. In his surprise, he couldn't help but make his confusion vocal.

"I understand you?"

She appeared to be just as surprised. "You do? Say something else!"

Harry complied. "Yeah... Must have been that spell you cast."

"I think, it was a spell of silence," she said slowly.

'_A silence spell? And it exploded? Seamus Finnigan, you have met your_ _match!'_ Harry blanched.

Seeing his look, she blushed in embarrassment.

"I didn't use the full incantation, so obviously it went badly," she said indignantly.

"Tell me your name," she ordered. It was a rather obvious attempt at changing the subject, but he was also rather keen on moving on.

And Harry could have pointed out that it was polite to offer your own name in advance but after his own rather imperfect mannerism of having just assaulted her seconds before, he decided not to. He wasn't nitpicky like that. Dusting off his clothes and trying to keep what dignity he had left, he stood up.

"My name is Harry James Potter. Pleased to meet you." he greeted cordially. Not that he really meant that. This place and that girl had been anything but a pleasing experience so far. His thoughts were on his home.

"And erm, sorry about before," Harry added. "I just wanted my wand back."

"I suppose, it's okay. I'll overlook it this once as you couldn't have understood me," she said.

"Okay, next question. You say wand. Are you a noble?" she asked, eyes narrowed.

Harry shrugged, not quite sure what she meant exactly. Though he could draw parallels.

"If you're asking if I'm pureblood... Then I am not. I am a half-blood," he said with a hint of pride. He wasn't ashamed of his lineage and he certainly didn't hold any love for the purists.

"A... bastard? I summoned a bastard boy!" the girl gasped in disbelief. She calmed herself quickly though.

"But you can use magic?" she asked. Harry just glowered at her for the perceived insult.

"I am not the product of some affair some pureblood had. My mother was a muggleborn," he said with as much calm as he could muster. Her repeatedly insensitive actions had taken quite a toll on his patience.

"A muggleborn?" she asked.

"My mother's parents had no magic," he explained.

Her eyes lit up. "Ahh, so a half peasant. But you can use magic?" she questioned again.

Harry just nodded, eyeing her strangely. She seemed somewhat pleased with that before she turned to a drawer behind her without explanation. Her questions perplexed him. She seemed very interested in his heritage but when it came down to it, she only cared if he could use magic or not. Feeling hopeful Harry tried to get some questions of his own answered.

"That was your last question. Now you can answer some of mine. Where am I?" he asked.

She began stripping off her clothes. Harry averted his eyes in embarrassment. "You're in Tristain's Magical Academy."

"Where is that located? And what are you doing? I'm standing right here." Harry said. He'd never encountered anything like this. Maybe he really was in France. He'd heard stories about French girls. Especially after last year. If he wasn't seeing it, he'd never have believed that Fred and George had been telling the truth.

He really had no idea where the magical communities outside of britain were or how they did things. He could somehow have ended up somewhere across the Atlantic where this was considered normal among wizards and witches. Though that mostly didn't explain the strange hair, unless she was a metamorphmagus.

"Must I explain everything?" she scoffed in nothing but her undergarments. "It doesn't matter that you're here because you're just my familiar. I'm not going to go out of my way for your sake."

"Tristain academy is located in the country of the same name in Halkegenia. Now stop asking questions. You're my familiar so you should do as I say." She threw her clothing at him." Have these washed and ironed by tomorrow."

Harry stared up at her in disbelief. This was like being back at the Dursleys. And to be worse off it didn't explain anything of what had happened to him.

He decided to start with the most pressing question. To be honest, he was curious. "Wait, hold on. I'm your what?"

"My familiar. I summoned you here after all. Just look at the runes on your hand," she responded irritably. Harry did and found to his horror, a bunch of runes in a unknown language on his left hand. He could almost feel the magic emanating from it and meshing with his own magic. It felt harmonious now, but at the time of the binding, something in his magic had have fought it, causing pain as the fallout. And when it had reached his scar... He didn't know. His scar always acted strange. But now it felt dull in a way it hadn't since possibly his first year.

"So what, I'm your slave now? I've never agreed to this nor would I if asked." Harry protested, anger rising in his voice.

"Watch your tone, boy. You might be able to cast magic, but you're not a noble and you're my familiar. And I won't allow my familiar to hold such an informal tone with me. My name is Louise Françoise de Blanc de la Vallière and you will refer to me by my name."

"I think, I am done here." Harry said. "My apologies, _Louise_." He mockingly stressed the name. "But I will be leaving now."

Louise looked confused. "Leave? You can't just leave. You're my familiar."

Harry shrugged. "I don't really care. I've got to get home. You'll have to find someone else to lord over."

He stood and walked off towards the door. As he opened he felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise in alarm. With a healthy sense of danger, he sort of knew what was coming. Whipping around he saw Louise armed with her wand poking it indecisively in his direction. Now Harry already knew that whatever spell she would go for wouldn't necessarily work. But he also knew that it could likely result in an small explosion too. Not particularly dangerous or maiming, but very uncomfortable. So in reflex he whipped his own wand up and fired his own spell at her shout.

"Stop or I wi-"

"Silencio!"

Her words stopped flowing out of her mouth. He grinned at her.

_'Who's on the receiving end of a silencing spell now?' _he thought darkly. Though the spell could technically be cast to last indefinitely this one would only last for about another minute. Plenty of time to escape in Harry's head. He closed the door and ran.

Getting down a flight of stairs, he met with one he recognized from earlier. A blond haired guy. He was in the business of openly seducing another student of the academy. The guy noted his arrival and instantly remarked how he had fallen unconscious leaving him to graciously help with the 'problem'. Harry ignored them. They were openly talking about him in front of him and not to him. Which was rather rude but Harry was used to that kind of thing from Hogwarts and at Little Whinging and he had more pressing matters so he paid them no mind. He had almost passed them when the guy stopped him.

"A peasant entroubling the hands of nobility. And not even a word of thanks?" he said expectantly.

Harry's eyebrows rose. Again with the nobility thing. "Thank you, sir" he said in passing, likely leaving much to be desired by the 'Noble' in front of him, but hopefully enough to not invite trouble. Harry was working on the clock here so he didn't have time for stay around and do hoops. He heard clattering on the stairs. His neck hair rose on end and he heightened his pace. Harry swore if he heard another comment about nobles and peasants, Merlin help him or he might curse them into the next century.

He somehow found his way to the exit briefly passing the same redhead who had ridiculed Louise earlier who had a date much like the guy he'd passed.

_'What a frisky school. At least in Hogwarts, we don't display our affection out in the hallways,'_ he thought.

He saw the wooden double doors and breathed a sigh of relief. He was almost out of here yet he could hear Louise not far behind him and she wasn't alone anymore. That was bad. With no other alternative, he simply bolted as fast as he could out the door.

He only made it a few dozen steps out into the night before he stopped. Two moons. A blue and a pink one, glowing serenely on a beautiful starry sky. However Harry didn't process any of those romantic notions as his mind went to crashing and rebooting. The questions of where he was and why things were so strange suddenly all made sense. It was all so frighteningly simple but yet, should have been improbable.

_"You're a wizard, Harry!"_ Hagrids words resounded in his head. Those words had once marked the beginning of a new life for him the day he found out he was a wizard in the most dramatic manner possible. In this moment, he realized that today would equal that day in the revelation of where he just might be. Or wasn't, to be more accurate.

Harry's world had done a one eighty once again and completely changed without his notice or consent. And while he'd welcomed the change the first time, he wasn't quite so hooked this time around.

But then his body was magically lifted off the ground and everything was kickstarted back into gear. Though he was kind of out of options. If he wanted to get away now then he would likely need to fight his way out. And if he was outnumbered then it could quickly turn ugly. And he'd still be on the run. There was no way out of this as far as he could see.

The blonde man from before was the one doing the spellwork of keeping him suspended in the air. He was joined by his earlier date, the pair with the redhead and Louise herself.

As he was lowered down in front of the fuming pinkette he couldn't draw his gaze away from the moons above. How would he ever get back?

"This isn't my sky." he said deep in thought. Then he turned to the blonde. "You win, you can let me down. I won't run."

The blonde appeared unconvinced. "And how will I know that?"

To Harry his answer stung in a place the cruciatus curse never seemed to reach. "I just realized that I really have nowhere else to go anymore."

Guiche seemed to regard him with a skeptical frown as Harry finally stopped staring at the moons and looked at him.

"I do not place much value in your words, peasant. So far you've been no end of trouble." he said with a disdainful air. Louise moved in between them.

"Guiche, please let him down." she said, her face still red with anger and embarrassment. "He's my familiar, so he's responsibility."

"I can take care of my self," Harry protested, still airborne and getting rather antsy about that fact. Guiche's words seemed to wake him up from his stupor. He wasn't about to be jollied around at this guys leisure.

"Can you now?" Guiche responded playfully. He lifted his wand and Harry slowly rose and danced around in the air at his whims. "Remember your manners when addressing your betters and we shall have no quarrel in the future. Is that understood?"

"Put me down, Guiche" Harry growled. Seeing his look Louise forgot her anger. "Put him down, Guiche. Please. He's my familiar. This does not concern you."

Kirche and her latest temporary conquest looked on in interest.

"Oh, I think it does. I didn't hear a word of assent," Guiche said, waving Louise back.

As a noble, he should not let a peasant slight him and even though he didn't feel slighted. He simply couldn't allow it in front of a lady whom he was trying to impress. That was the way of things. If he didn't do something, he would lose face and be seen as weak if such rumors spread. But it wasn't just for his own sake this familiar had to be set straight, but for the common good of everyone involved. This teasing now was a slap on the wrist which would hopefully stick. Guiche would correct him now rather than leave him unchecked later at the hands of some noble who would destroy him utterly for a lesser transgression. It was mercy, really. And an outlet for his annoyance. If this peasant had only been acting normally then Guiche wouldn't have to go out of his way to do this and he could stay and further charm this wonderful first year girl he'd met.

Harry had a whole different idea about this mercy lesson, of course. His earlier melancholy had turned to frustration at these new problems harassing him.

"I won't bow to some aristocrat who thinks he can do whatever he wants just because he has magic. Put me down or I'll put you down!" Harry hissed.

"I would like to see you do that, peasant boy. A peasant cannot beat a noble." Guiche laughed. He couldn't help himself. A peasant threatening a noble was a silly notion at best. It had been seen before, surely, but it seldom ended pretty and never without the humiliation of the peasant. Things shouldn't be any different this time. Kirche and her boytoy couldn't help chuckling themselves. That the exclamation had been made upside down from the air hadn't helped any.

Though Louise had looked on in worry. Then Harry whipped out his wand with blazing speed. He had already deduced that he was free of any restrictions from the ministry on this alien world. Guiche blinked in surprise before the truth settled in.

"_She summoned a mage,"_ he thought in disbelief.

A curse, that was not of the sorcerous kind, died in the throat of Guiche, who was instantly blown back inside the open doors of the academy. As anticipated the spell holding up Harry lifted and he fell down head first. Having expected it, Harry managed to clumsily turn and land on his feet which didn't stop him from immediately casting his next spell.

Guiche prepared his own spell from the ground, but found to his surprise that his wand slipped from his grasp and flew straight into the hand of Harry's. Guiche was rendered dumbstruck. No matter how much of a drop he'd had on him, it didn't change the fact that he'd lost. He had been defeated in seconds no less.

"I win," Harry said. However Guiche hadn't caught up to that point yet.

"You're a mage!" he stammered. Harry quirked an eyebrow.

"Yeah, so?" he answered. "Not what you expected from a peasant boy?"

"But you're also Louise's familiar! That's impossible. You can't just summon a mage. It is unheard of!" the blond said in exasperation.

"Well, I have a knack for doing the impossible without even trying. If I am not a mage or whatever you call it here, then what am I? I am certainly not a noble of this place." Harry said as he waltzed over to him and offered him a hand. He gingerly took it and was heaved up. Harry held out the wand.

"Now, I won't have any trouble with you once I give this back, will I, oh great lord?" Harry questioned almost mockingly, as if daring Guiche to give him exactly that.

"No, you will not. You've made your point," Guiche said and took the wand and withdrew it. Then Louise got in between them.

"What were you thinking?" she hissed at Harry, before turning to Guiche.

"On behalf of my familiar, I apologize, Guiche." she said, bowing down to Guiche. He shook his head.

"I am not offended, Louise." Guiche said. "And if I was, I would not blame you for it. With him being a mage like us, that makes this a matter of personal honor. I suppose he was right to defend his."

Harry arched an eyebrow. Honor had nothing to do with any of this. And Louise apologizing for him like this was weird to him. He had already said he would take care of himself and he was sure Guiche could see that he wasn't sorry in the least. Guiche had deserved every bit of that for being a pushy git.

"If nothing else is happening, then I'll go back to my quarters." he said and with that, he left with his brown haired acquaintance in tow.

"Maybe we should be heading back too, eh Kirche?" the man with Kirche hopefully prodded. She stared at Harry in thought for a second before she answered him. "Oh, yeah of course."

With everyone gone, there was only Louise and Harry left standing on the field under the twin moons.

* * *

A/N: A pilot chapter that just went out of hand. It seems so obvious that it should have been done long ago. Though I must give credit where it is due. The other crossover-story 'Mistress of Death' is what made me consider writing this because as the author writes: "Not quite sure why nobody's done this one yet...". So I thought- why not indeed?

Any mistakes I've made, opinions you wanna discuss, ideas, anything - feel free to send me PMs/reviews about them. I love attention ^^

Extra edit: Changed a few things. Fleshed out a few parts. Plot-wise I've changed the chronology of Harry to the start of his fifth year instead of starting of his sixth year. And now I've re-editted most of the chapter. Harry was a bit wimpy.


	2. 2: Conflict

_Wow... The reaction to this fic took my breath away and left me laughing myself silly as the traffic blew all records. In a day I almost got as many faves as I've so far got in a year. Thanks guys._

**_Conflict_**

* * *

_With everyone gone, there was only Louise and Harry left standing on the field under the twin moons._

* * *

"What is your problem?" Louise growled out. "You're supposed to be my familiar, but all you do is cause trouble!"

"I'm not your familiar. I'm Harry! Harry Potter!" Harry snapped back, just as angry. "I actually had a life before all of this."

Louise crossed her arms in defiance.

"So? You said you weren't nobility. You should be happy. Instead of whatever you did before, this is your chance for an easier life." She said. "You'll have to work for me but as my familiar I would treat you better than any plebeian could realistically hope to be treated."

Harry sighed and calmed himself. If he blew up whatever ties he had with this girl then he was on his own and he would rather not burn that bridge yet in this new world. His sudden flight had been badly planned in the spur of the moment. Certainly it would be easier to stay here. After all, this was a magic academy. It might have a headmaster like Dumbledore who could help him. It was unlikely, but possible.

Though the problem remained; she didn't understand him at all. She had a completely different mindset. In her mind and likely in the minds of most in this world, her offer was a genuine ticket to a better existence if being a plebian was half as bad as it sounded. He'd have to convince her otherwise.

"You don't understand. That stuff has nothing to do with it at all. I don't want money and I certainly don't want a title. I just want to go back to my friends." Harry said.

Louise's anger turned to confusion and she deflated. She had been sure that he would submit to her offer and perhaps even apologize for his actions. She must have misjudged him, she thought. If he was the son of a rich trader, then it could explain why he might feel above working for her. But that didn't explain his given motives or the clothes he wore. Big saggy pants which looked suited for work and a shirt which looked like hand-me-downs. Not exactly aristocratic or fashionable.

What could she offer to one who wanted nothing from her?

"You don't want to be my familiar?" She asked slowly in disbelief.

"I don't want to. I'd rather be home," He said clearly. "But I am a little out of options as I cannot get home on my own."

"How come?" She asked. The more she learned, the more questions seemed to appear.

"Well," he started. "When I looked out the window the other night, there was only one moon."

He pointed upwards. "Now I see two. There's only supposed to be one."

"Just what are you implying?" She inquired. If her familiar was crazy, she would,- she didn't really know what she'd do but it would just be her luck that it was **her** familiar that was weird **and** mentally unstable. And stubborn, she added.

"What I'm implying is that I'm not from this world." Harry said. "I grew up in a place called England. England is a country in Europe, which is a continent on Earth. We still have nobles in England and a Queen, but they do not rule the country. And most nobles aren't magical."

"England, Europe, Earth?" She tried out the foreign words awkwardly before narrowing her eyes in suspicion. What he'd said didn't make sense. "But if the Queens and Kings doesn't rule, then who does?"

"We like to say that the people do." Harry said. "A man is elected by the people for a few years at a time. That goes for both the wizarding world and the muggle world. In my world we call those without magic muggles. Muggles do not know of magic and cannot use it. They believe that it doesn't exist because the wizarding world hides itself from them."

"That's absurd" Louise said. "Why would they hide from peasants? And if the people are just electing common folk, won't they just elect an idiot who does everything to please the peasants so they'll elect him again?"

"Well, I don't know a lot about that. I'm not really into politics." Harry deflected. He didn't have a lot of trust in the wizarding government after they'd branded him a lunatic. "But about hiding from muggles, it had to do with some witch hunts some hundred years ago." Harry said. "Nowadays it is because muggles have so much strange and dangerous technology."

"I don't believe it." she said. "All this stuff about different worlds and these... muggles. You're just making up words."

She turned and walked back inside.

"I'm not lying." Harry followed her. "If you don't believe me, then that's your business. What I want to know now is how I can get unsummoned. That way I can get back and you can maybe get a new familiar or something."

"Impossible, the contract is absolute no matter who, when, where or what I summoned." she said, shoulders sagging. Harry noticed this and frowned. 'T_his is the triwizard contest all over again... in reverse._' Harry thought. '_First I'm summoned somewhere weird and now I'm magically bound by 'strange magic'. I must be out of luck. And not just me. __I'm not really what she expected from a familiar either, it seems._'

Thinking back on Dumbledore's familiar, the phoenix, he couldn't help but crack a smile. Dumbledore had once said that the bird owned him rather than the other way around. It seemed like that between him and Hedwig too, most of the time. He missed her already.

"Alright, so I'm your familiar. What happens now?" Harry said without any conviction. He'd play along though.

"Now? I'll go to bed and you," she pointed towards Harry harshly. "Will clean my clothes, wake me up at dawn and make me ready for school before accompanying me throughout the day attending to my every demand. Any questions?"

"In return for what again?" Harry asked. He had the strangest feeling of leaving behind Little Whinging travelling across the universe, dimensions and maybe even the very fabric of time, magic and space just to wind up in a place not much different than he had left. Considering his lifelong job as a servant boy of the Dursleys he was used to such work and now that he had, after years of subtle threats of magic and lots of resistance on his part, escaped it mostly, the universe came right back putting him in a position where he had few alternatives other than menial servitude. After all he'd rather do dishes in a magic academy as a servant than forage in the forest as an illegal alien. He did, right? Right...?

Harry rubbed his temples.

"Shelter, food and other possible expenses covered, under my supervision. This is a two-way relationship, I'll remind you. I am merely sitting on the heavy end of the deal." she said. "For example I would like to purchase you some new clothes. Those doesn't seem to fit and you look like a peasant."

"That's fine with me." Harry nodded. '_Maybe a little different than 'dear home'.'_

They quickly reached Louise's room. Harry stopped in the doorway.

"So where do I sleep?" Harry asked.

She pointed to a stack of hay on the floor next to the bed. The only thing sticking out in the otherwise well-kept room.

"You must be mad. First of all, I am a guy. I should be in the boys dorm. Second of all, I am not some animal." Harry said as he went in and shuffled the object in question around.

"You should be glad I am not putting this on you if anything." Harry saw the calculating glint in her eye as she picked up a collar with a lock that was chained to the wall. Harry blanched.

"Have you always had that or did you think of me specifically for that?" Harry said. She was becoming down-right scary. "Though it's not going to work. I can just open it with magic."

"I see, well that's to be expected." she drawled as she shelved the collar.

"Now about the room?" Harry reminded her.

"I only have this room. First and second of all, you're just my familiar. And familiars sleep in the room of the student or in the stalls set up for that purpose. We haven't had a case of a human familiar before as far as I know. Would you rather sleep among your fellow familiars?" Louise said offhandedly. She began undressing again without a care in the world, much to Harry's chagrin.

"No, but I expected something more fit for humans." Harry said while staring into the wall. "Even a mattress would be fine. And why do you keep undressing in front of me? Isn't it a bit... indecent?"

"How so? You're just my familiar remember?" Louise said and threw her cloak over Harry's head. Soon followed the rest of her garments. "You can start by having these cleaned for tomorrow as I asked of you earlier if you aren't entertaining any more thoughts of running away. If you prove your worth, perhaps I'll make some concessions."

"Fine. I'll do your little chores in return for food. I'll have them ready. But I'll want information too. I'm not planning on staying around here." he said, folding the clothes. "Actually I'll just deal with those now."

Harry laid them on the floor before casting a scouring charm he'd learned from Mrs. Weasley while at the Burrow. He only stopped in his work to smirk at Louise's surprised expression at his casual display of magic before he levitated the clothes up upon the drawer, ready for use.

Then he turned to his so-called bed. He had an idea to at least make it comfortable enough for actual sleeping. First he cast an Engorgement charm on the hay to enlarge it to a humongous extent. Then he cast a cushioning charm to actually to avoid a sore back in the morning before plotting down on the thing and letting out a contented sigh.

He'd managed to outdo the bed in his own bedroom back at the Dursleys, though the cushioning charm would take a little getting used to.

He glanced up at the scandalously-clad pinkette who was refining the finer points of the age old art of staring people to death. Harry almost laughed before thinking that perhaps she just might be able to stare him to death. Their magic was different after all. Not to mention their moral compass or customs.

"What is it, Louise?" he opted for instead.

"Nothing." she said dismissively and turned away. With a flick of the hand she turned off the light and went to bed.

Suddenly feeling dead tired himself Harry did the same without giving it any further thought. That was a mistake.

* * *

Next morning Harry woke up to one hell of a surprise.

"Get up, you lazy dog." A disembodied voice snapped from somewhere.

"Huh?" Harry mumbled still half asleep. Standing over him was his new alien overlord, Miss Vallière. He yawned in reply.

"We're running late and it's your fault! You were supposed to wake me up at dawn!" the now very embodied voice snapped at him. "Get ready, we're heading down to breakfast and you're missing out if you hold me back any longer!"

Harry groggily sat up. What had just happened? '_Ah, right. I've technically been kidnapped by the universe. And it seems I've dozed off at my first workday. Jet lag is an unforgiving...'_

He rose with a hasty apology though it didn't seem to help his cause much. But Harry wasn't about to lose breakfast if he could help it.

"Follow me, and hurry, I even had to clothe myself this morning because of your incompetence." she berated him as they quickly went through the castle. Harry tried not to imagine what she'd meant with that "A noble with servants never clothe themselves you know."

And now he knew too much.

Harry absorbed the implications of that information as they went out of the dormitory building. What would Ron say to that? He'd be teased for months. Perhaps even Hermione would join in on the teasing.

They reached a pair of huge doors that presumably let in to where breakfast was had and she stopped. "You'll have to stay out here as you're not a student. I considered bringing you with me, but your blunder earlier changed my mind. I'll bring you some leftovers when I'm done."

With that she went on inside. Harry saw a hall which reminded him of the great hall back at Hogwarts. A few inside had noticed him standing in the door and were staring and poking their neighbors. At that point staying outside suited Harry fine. While he was used to the weird treatment, if these were all nobles then this would be like a big nest of pureblood slytherins. There had to be a few Draco Malfoys in between and then he might not be able to control himself. Causing a scene the first day would make it impossible to get any of the teachers on his side if they weren't bonkers too.

Besides, he had never seen so many strange magical creatures he'd never seen before! The stairs leading up to the halls were flooded with them. He found this side of the fence much more interesting than stuffy aristocrats. Hagrid would have a field day here. And most seemed friendly too. At least to Harry.

So Harry spent his morning getting familiar with the familiars.

* * *

Louise sat alone in the great hall. They were still serving breakfast so she had made it in time. She wondered what to do with her familiar. After all, today was scheduled as a day to get to know your familiar better. It was as she sat there in contemplation that she was suddenly joined by her arch nemesis, Kirche, and her merry little band consisting of Montmorency and the stoic Tabitha.

Louise knew without a doubt that the glint of mischief in Kirche's eye would mean a lot of grief for her. But she couldn't run away when in public. As a noble she had to stand her ground. So it was with a determined front that she cordially welcomed Kirche to her table.

* * *

It was as Harry was tentatively approaching the blue dragon that he'd been watching with one eye all morning that a group of people he recognized walked out of the entrance doors. The redhead from yesterday along with Guiche who was rather focused on another pretty blond girl with them. Alongside them he saw a blue haired girl with a indifferent expression with glasses and couldn't help snorting. It seemed that strange hair was the norm here. Right behind this group Louise walked along in silence. Her pink hair was rather hard to miss despite her small stature. They went straight for him.

"Ahh Harry! There you are." the redhead spoke. "We were hoping you'd join us for tea. After all we're supposed to get to know our familiars and I hoped you'd join us." She was carrying a tray but more importantly a full plate of delicious looking food. And Harry was getting hungry.

"We heard you hadn't had breakfast yet, so I brought you some left-overs." She continued, stressing her part in this little ploy. He could see Louise scowling behind them. Something was going on and he had no small inkling as to what.

Though he was suspicious, Harry gratefully accepted the offer. No small amount of intrigue were going to keep him from eating and he didn't feel he really owed any allegiance to his 'master'. And the way that Kirche didn't seem to make a fuss out of his status was a nice change. Though with a darkening frown he recalled that she had seen that he was a wizard, which might change things in her eyes. But for now, food was food.

"I think that Montmorency and I will be going somewhere a little more private." Guiche said as he let the blond away followed by their familiars. "Perhaps we'll join you later."

Harry couldn't help but notice that she was someone else than the one he'd been courting yesterday. With their blond hair they looked somewhat alike. Perhaps they were siblings, he considered.

"Alright, now follow us, you can't eat out here on the ground." the redhead spoke again. "We'll go to the gardens and have tea."

So soon Harry found himself sitting among the nobles of the academy in the gardens. Most of the familiars had been brought along, so he had learned that the blue dragon familiar belonged to none other than the blue haired silent girl. It lay in the grass in the shadow of the inner wall nearby.

Breakfast and tea in a foreign universe was surprisingly good in Harry's opinion. And he decided that this would all be very pleasant if not for a few baleful stares. It was as if the very idea of a peasant enjoying himself on equal footing as them were a capital offense. But none spoke out which suited Harry fine for now.

There was some idle conversation before the redhead turned to the pinkette.

"So it seems you managed to outdo yourself. Summoning such an impressive familiar as you said you would. I'm surprised. Especially considering your history in this academy, Louise the Zero." She said. Harry perked up. The way it was said oddly reminded him of a situation from back home.

"Thank you, Kirche. You didn't do bad yourself." Louise said in a tone that clearly suggested otherwise.

"Now, now. I wouldn't get cocky. I did say he was impressive." the now aptly named Kirche returned. "But he not much next to my familiar. Magic or no magic."

As if on cue, said fire-lizard bounced up to their table with all the bluster it could. It reminded him a bit of how Goyle and Crappe would act, even if this lizard seemed to have that spark of feral intelligence in its eyes, that the two Slytherin grunts lacked. With that he realized that they were arguing like he and Draco Malfoy would. That wasn't a good thing.

"Well, you know what they say. The familiar is a reflection of the summoner, lizard-woman!" Louise said in disdain.

"Says you! I suppose you really are a man then, Louise!" Kirche yelled. "I, for one, am not surprised!"

Louise's cheeks flared up in anger before biting out another retort forcing Harry to amend his earlier thought. They were like Draco and Ron arguing. They were worse.

Squirming a bit uncomfortably in his seat between the two raging women, he noticed the reaction of the last occupant at the table across him. Or rather the lack thereof. The other girl with the odd hair colour was reading a book without a care in the world. He couldn't decipher the title. It all looked like strange runes to him.

Noticing his interest, she glanced up from her book. Harry nodded at the two women who had settled to angrily glare at each other.

"Hi, my name is Harry. Are they always like this?" he asked.

"It varies." The short clipped answer she produced didn't tell him much.

"What's your name?"

"Tabitha" she answered curtly, again. Harry was beginning to see a trend.

"So you've got a dragon as your familiar?" he asked after the conversation died.

"I do." she answered.

Harry faltered and she turned back to her book. He resisted muttering a dry thanks for her time.

Any further antics between the two girls at their table were stopped short by a panicked Guiche who was tumbling past them with a confused Montmorency in tow.

And trailing a bit behind them was the brown haired girl he'd been with. As luck would have it she caught up with them right next to their table. Lowered voices turned to hissing and it quickly escalated to shouting and soufflé smeared all over Guiche's face as Montmorency and the other girl figured out just how they had been played by the hopeless womanizer.

The brownhaired first year Katie then noticed Harry sitting at the table and gave him the expression he normally received by people back home who hadn't actually met him before. It was that of dawning surprise along with recognition of what he was, rather than who he was that he was so accustomed to back home. His display last night had obviously not gone unnoticed and the way he had beat up her former crush had been imprinted upon her. Especially since secrets were likely in play.

The last thing he needed right now was a scene. Particularly not one which would put him in the kind of sensational spotlight that had given him a lot of hassle back home. He wasn't quite sure, but he just didn't want to deal with it here right now. He'd have to fight for that right of course.

"You're the one who bested Guiche in a duel!" Katie stammered loudly in surprise, hands to her mouth as if she had somehow mentally held back the shock of the fight since last night. Maybe she wanted to cause a scene as much as Harry didn't want one. These were nobles after all and they were deliberate in their theatrics if anything.

Glancing around the table told him that he needed to act quickly if he was to influence the outcome. Kirche was already in the middle of seconding Katie and trying to take over the stage. Guiche was looking pale and desperate and Montmorency was gobbing up every word like everyone else within earshot. Louise was looking at him.

Tabitha was reading her book.

"That's ridiculous. Why would I duel Guiche and let alone win?" Harry asked rhetorically, focusing all attention on him. He took a calming breath before continuing.

"Guiche and me dueling is a misunderstanding. How would I even beat Guiche?" He turned to the blonde who looked back warily. "Right, Guiche?"

The sweating noble, who still had pieces of soufflé all over, answered slowly, with his eyes never leaving Harry. "Of course... Us dueling would be... silly."

There were a few chuckles at the thought of a peasant dueling a mage as things slowly returned normal, satisfied at the return to status quo, but the occupants at the table kept their stares fixed on Harry.

First up was Katie. "Why did you lie?" she asked in a low tone.

Harry shrugged. "I'm sorry, girl. But I don't have a thing for attention. And I didn't exactly lie either."

"But you did duel Guiche and you are a mage." The girl frowned at him.

"Really? I wouldn't call what we had a duel. A duel is not the same as a surprise attack. And I never said I wasn't a mage." Harry grinned at her. He knew he had lied his back off and elegantly skirted around his magic thing, but he really didn't like the attention. He knew his secret probably wouldn't last but he would make enough waves when it did come out anyway that it didn't matter. Everyone here at the table knew he was a mage, but they could likely be hushed. And Katie had lost credibility from her outburst. If she tried to spread any rumors she would only be digging her own proverbial grave. Harry felt very slytherin at that moment.

She walked off with a huff of annoyance. '_What a victory._' Harry grinned.

* * *

Louise glanced strangely at her familiar. Why would he not make sense to her? He was entrancing their classmates, attracting the interest of her enemies and tricking nobles without any thought put to it. He didn't want fame, nor did he want wealth. He had magical talent which he kept secret from most and a strong will and character. And he didn't want to have anything to do with her if he had a choice.

For the first time she felt a bit anxious about having him as a familiar. He was simply too much for her to handle. He was hardly what she had in mind when she begun the summoning ritual. He held most of the qualities she'd thought ideal, but he intimidated her because she couldn't hope to control him. She could order him around all she wanted and he would play along, but it was as if it didn't count for anything in the grand scheme of things. It was just something he did to appease her while he pondering his options and looking for a way out. He'd leave the first chance he got.

She had selfishly hoped for a familiar who would be hers and hers alone who didn't care about her magic or the opinion of anyone but hers. Why was a guy of all things like him her familiar? One, who didn't even want to be her familiar and nothing she could think of could change that. And they both knew it, yet calling him out on it would dispel any semblance of control over the situation she actually had left.

So far he'd seen her fail in magic once, but that was an isolated event and nobody had outright stated her inadequacy. However tomorrow classes would begin again and her failure as Louise the Zero would become apparent. Then he would lose whatever faith he had for her usefulness like the rest and she'd be on her own against the world again. Louise bit her lip. She hoped it wouldn't come to that.

* * *

Elsewhere Dumbledore had just made a very alarming discovery. The watchers who had been watching over Harry had reported nothing out of the ordinary until he stopped showing up.

Harry Potter had disappeared scant days after coming back from Hogwarts. Now he stood in Harry's room to figure out why and how. So far nobody except him and the watchers, Tonks and Remus, knew of Harry's disappearance but soon the other coming watchers from the order of the phoenix would find out. Albus had sent an owl to Harry's two friends, informing them of the situation and advising them to remain calm. Later he would have to inform the order of the phoenix and possibly the ministry of magic depending on what he found here. With Voldemort on the loose he couldn't afford to take any chances. _Shouldn't have._

He had never anticipated the Dark Lord to act this fast or this boldly for surely none other than Voldemort could be behind this and Dumbledore had severely underestimated him after he'd had a decade of plotting by himself. He'd been a fool for not taking Harry's security for granted. Without Harry on the scene Voldemort would act boldly.

With a flourish of his wrinkled hand he called up a roll of parchment. His resignation from the seat of headmaster of Hogwarts was a necessary sacrifice. There was too much be done. Harry Potter must be found.

* * *

_A/N: Again the support was overwhelming! I'm uploading this with a hammering heart. I hadn't expected anything like this. Of all my pilot stories, this was the one I least expected to get so much attention. It surpassed my year-old main story in favs/alerts in just days :3_

_ It makes me feel all giddy inside, like when I posted my first chapter ever. So I've decided to continue this as of now. Thanks again everybody. I hope I can provide._

_I will apologize for the wait too. I was ill-prepared to continue this story but it's shaping up. I just moved out from home and started on the university of Aalborg. Add that to the fact that I am already a slow writer (I usually daydream about plots rather than write them). Though I've been hard at work this last month thanks to all the inspiration you guys have given me (at least on my other projects)._

_Also last and perhaps least, I've made a few updates to the first chapter as of 9/10-12 (10/9-12 for Americans, I believe). Harry is now from the beginning of his fifth year instead of a year later. Sorry to change such a major thing but it felt better. Such things are liable to change back and forth till I'm comfortable, but I will try to notify about such changes._

_I've also moved the first bit of this chapter to the end of the 2nd chapter since I got a lot of feedback from people on my first chapter who were upset with Harry's docile behavior, which tended to disappear after this chapter._

_Edit: My thanks to MutantRancor for pointing out that canonically Dumbledore is not inclined to use the phrase 'For the greater good' for reasons pertaining to his past. (Serviceannouncement, hint hint)  
_


	3. 3: Anxiety

**_Anxiety_**

* * *

_Harry Potter must be found..._

* * *

Albus Dumbledore sat reading his morning paper in the great hall of Hogwarts. He was still housed in his old office as the resignation of his position as Headmaster was not finalized yet. Poor McGonagall had been quite perturbed by the sudden news. However despite her protests he'd managed to calm her down enough to accept his decision. She'd be a fine headmistress and Hogwarts would do well under her leadership, of that he was certain. Explaining the mystery of Harry had helped his case tremendously yet it did little to calm down McGonagall. Such is the price of knowledge.

It was the morning on the second day of Harry's disappearance and he was reading the latest issue of the Quibbler as he was prone to on quiet mornings such as these. However spotting the headline of the first article he spluttered his morning juice all over the table, causing quite a stir among the remaining teachers who hadn't withdrawn from Hogwarts for the summer. He quickly vanished the mess with his wand and with the passing of his momentary shock he sat down to read the most peculiar article he'd seen yet even by the Quibbler's standards. Most would dismiss most or everything of the Quibbler with barely a glance, however the timing of this story was out of this world.

_'Harry Potter kidnapped'_ the headline read. He kept reading and found to his surprise a rather lengthy explanation of how fairies had spirited away young Harry to groom him as their king and champion in a fight against something most ponderously called 'industrialization'. A muggle term for moving people into the cities, the article further elaborated. Apparently it was all then tied to the rising usage of radio waves in the muggle world which was in turn affecting dormant ley lines in a way which was never really brought up and that was what had upset the natural order, which in turn had upset the fairies. It was far out at best as always and Albus did find it implausible given his extensive knowledge of fairies and leylines. Though that industrialization would need some reading later. He had most bases covered that this article was false. But on the other hand there was supposedly no one who even knew that Harry was gone yet. He stroked his beard wisely, well aware of the heavy atmosphere and the attention he'd garnered from whomever was present of the teachers, as he pondered the implications. He could really use a lemon drop about now, he decided. He voiced his craving for his prized sweets and was met with a chorus of aggravated sighs as tension drained from the room. He just shrugged it off. Young people were so stiff these days in Albus' opinion.

* * *

Louise was stalking through the halls toward her first class. Following her closely was her familiar, Harry, silent as a shadow. Which was actually for the best after the rude awakening this morning. She'd been woken in a strange manner that morning. She had been sleeping as usual when a noise which she had never heard before had woken her abruptly and scared her out of her wits. As she scrambled out of bed she instead fell out over the side of her bed screaming bloody murder. Landing squarely in the makeshift bed that Harry had made she managed to share a bit of her traumatic morning with her groggy familiar who had only just begun to take into account that the alarm clock on his watch had gone off.

Spotting the infernal beeping artifact on Harry's hand instantly made her form an uncanny understanding of who and what was guilty of the morning's transgressions on her bedrest and she snarled in an unladylike manner that had she been a magical animal she would have made Hagrid think twice about taking her in. Harry, knowing the undiluted hatred some people of his world shared for the alarm clock, could only fumble awkwardly with the wristwatch as he turned it off.

Then, showing true griffindor courage Harry had taken the bull by its teeth and explained what the fuss had been all about, defending himself that he was simply doing his job as she'd asked, insisting that it was not a magical artifact but simply a muggle device for telling time. It didn't help matters for him that he had never had much understanding of the watch's exact mechanism himself but in the end Louise had let him off by telling him to warn her in advance of any other muggle devices he might have, not that he really had any.

So here they were, walking down the stone corridors towards their first lesson of the day. The spectacle had made her forget her queasiness about the coming day. This feeling however was now returning in full force. She held on to the faith that perhaps she would not be called on or perhaps with having summoned a familiar, her days as Louise the Zero would be over.

* * *

Albus Dumbledore strolled into the meeting room of his pet organization the Order of the Phoenix. While the order had seen both better days and worse, he was no less surprised at the same old fire that lit the eyes of some of the members, as back in the old days when they were the only ones around in a dangerous world. Times had changed, but the order, while out of form and vastly different, was intact.

The meeting room was in no other place than the ancestral home of the Black family, a family of wizards and witches that had long supported the dark lord's ideals of blood purity. However thanks to the current living owner, the falsely accused fugitive Sirius Black, a rebel within who did not share his family's views, the order had managed to claim Grimmauld place as possibly the most unlikely base of operations in their fight against Voldemort's tyranny. It was strangely fitting, even with all the

The room grew silent as he emerged, which was no small feat as the whole order had been assembled as well as the almost honorary members Hermione Granger and the Weasley children. They already knew more than most in the room with the exception being McGonagall who was following in his wake.

On his shoulder sat Harry's white owl. He had released the bird from its cage when checking Harry's room in the hope that she would find him but the owl had returned to him earlier today to his disappointment. Since then Hedwig had doggedly followed him throughout the day as if she had appraised him as her best shot for finding her master again. As her gaze scanned the room Hedwig hooted and flew from his shoulder and landed on the table in front of Hermione, who took to idly petting the owl. She had been crying, if her slightly red eyes were any indication, but the owls demanding presence seemed to bring a small smile to her face. The usually boisterous Ron Weasley turned to him with such hopeful eyes that Albus almost couldn't meet them. He had no good news.

Mad-eye Moody was the first to make his voice known before he had even seated himself. The paranoid auror had as of yet not heard anything, but that was soon to change.

"Dumbledore! Why are these kids allowed in the meeting? They aren't order members. They are not even honorary members!" His eye spun to the children as he made a wide gesture towards them.

"Easy, old friend. They are here because the emergency which we'll discuss has more to do with them than any of us." Dumbledore placated, as he finally slid into his chair. He popped a lemon drop into his mouth before offering the crowd. His offer was shot down.

"It's about Harry isn't it?"

"Yes" Dumbledore said. He'd have to tell them what he knew. Best be delicate. "So who've read the Quibbler this morning?" he asked jovially.

* * *

Harry sat in the back of the classroom next to the small pinkette. They were having a class with an mostly bald professor with round glasses and blue robes. He went about with a staff or perhaps a walking stick, not that he seemed to need it. The fashion of this world was a in a way a tad more regal and again less strict than at Hogwarts. The white school uniform with the black cape and skirt was of a high quality, which reflected the high standing of the background of the students. He'd learned that no small amount of mages came here to study from different parts of Halkeginia; Tristain acting as an international boarding school in neutral territory. It was interesting as it was a polar opposite to the school he was familiar with. No rivaling houses compelled the students to compete against their peers and form social groups. There was apparently no need either.

Harry had instantly taken a liking to the wizened professor as he paraded about in front of the class while explaining magic theory that even Harry felt he could follow despite his rather abrupt entry into the subject. That is, until he had started writing on the blackboard. The weird symbols and signs were completely incomprehensible to him! Harry felt like pulling his hair out. While he technically didn't need to learn any of this since he wasn't supposed to be a real mage, it might be something important. If he wanted some way of getting home then he shouldn't disregard learning the local magic. This wasn't just slacking off with Ron and then relearning it all up before a test from Hermione what he should have learned weeks ago. This was vitally important.

Louise noticed his despair and poked him to catch his attention. He turned to her.

"What is it?" she whispered almost so quietly he almost didn't hear.

"I can't read the blackboard." he returned to her. She glanced up at the blackboard and grinned.

"Pff, don't worry. I know this stuff by heart." she whispered, a hint of pride in her words.

Then Harry noticed her own rather intricate notes full of scribbling. He knew a thing of two about bookworms and Louise certainly seemed to qualify. He almost snickered at the idea that Hermione certainly did have her bossy moments even after all the time spent around him and Ron. With that picture in mind she'd be much easier to deal with. Imperious Hermione who had an strong will and attitude. It was almost too easy to apply her qualities to Louise, who herself seemed to be quite smart.

Perhaps not quite as smart as Hermione, of course. That would be implausible, but Louise was definitely more bookish than he and Ron had ever been, for what that was worth. But in the end as Harry glanced at her filling notes: _How does that help me?_

He got his answer soon after.

As Harry took notes as best as he could, Louise would silently mutter the meanings of the symbols that the professor drew on the blackboard, curiously glancing at the letters he wrote to represent them.

Class proceeded like that for some time.

However their little exchange of words didn't go unnoticed. A boy sitting behind them rose up with cheeks red from suppressed anger.

"Professor Colbert, why is a peasant sitting in the midst of our class, taking notes as if he's a student." he demanded. "It is quite clearly an outrage."

The teacher, who hadn't paid him any mind before, seemed to finally notice that Harry was sitting in the room. Before he could answer, Harry raised his hand and the now named Colbert nodded his head, prompting him to speak.

"If I am to serve a mage, then I shouldn't I take care to understand them too". Harry drawled in a disinterested

The teacher seemed to nod, satisfied with the answer and continued the lesson.

"I can hear Louise's muttering. Can you even read?" the boy demanded again, loudly. The blond haired student tried to peer over Harry's shoulder and managed to see his notes and his voice grew even louder. "That's pure gibberish you're writing!"

A bit of laughing came from an assorted group of students.

Harry narrowed his eyes the boy who sought to defame him. He was tired of being the target of political assassination and obvious bullying. Even if he knew they were wrong, it still stung to be considered illiterate. Again, the thought of being surrounded by Malfoys came to mind. At least things weren't quite _that_ bad. But it was inching closer.

"It's not gibberish! It's english, not that you'd understand!" Harry voiced his objection.

"Silence, I will have order in this classroom." the professor called out sternly. "Let me see those notes."

Harry shot a glare at the student, noting his features, before reluctantly heading for the teacher. In class, retaliation was limited and even outside of the class, Harry knew no effective way of dealing with a bully that would get them off his back. Merlin know, he'd tried everything he could think of to get Draco off his case, but apparently Draco was more clingy that Creevey.

"Now I believe we haven't been introduced as of yet. I am Professor Jean Colbert. Since you're not technically a part of my class, you may address me as Mr. Colbert or Professor Colbert. Whichever you prefer" The teacher stuck forward his hand.

"My name is Harry James Potter, sir. A pleasure to meet you, Professor." Harry shook his hand and meant it, before handing him the papers.

The teacher hummed to himself for a few seconds, glancing the notes over and turned a page. Then he gave them back to Harry and turned to the class.

"I see no reason to keep Mr. Potter from my classes. That's a decision for Miss Vallière to make. However that does not mean that my classroom is open for familiars. This is obviously a special case." he said before turning to Harry again.

"I would like to talk with you after class, Mr. Potter," he said in a much lower private tone. Harry inwardly groaned as he returned to his seat. Louise glanced at him with a expectant expression.

"Colbert wants to see me after class." he whispered to her. Passing a note would have been so much easier however that was impossible.

She eyed him suspiciously but her scrutiny quickly faded to resignation.

"I guess, there's nothing to do about it now." she said with a sigh. "But try not to gather more attention to us."

Harry just nodded. That had been his agenda all along since arriving here. But perhaps it was time for a turn around. For all his thoughts about marshaling the help of the school, he had done surprisingly little to initiate that. So why not start now?

* * *

"This is my fault. If Harry had moved in here like he wanted to then this wouldn't have happened. I could have done something. Now Harry's trapped by some lousy fairies or something," Sirius said. The usually indomitable trickster was beyond distraught by the news.

Dumbledore took pity on the man.

"If it's anyone's fault, then the blame lies with me. It was I who placed him that home to begin with." he said. This made people look at him with deathly silence as if he had loudly spoken Voldemort's name, as he did from time to time. They were bound to get used to it sometime soon.

Dumbledore's hand in Harry Potters living arrangement had always been a taboo. Everyone knew that Dumbledore had put him at the Dursley and everyone knew how much Harry wanted out of it. However no one had ever brought it up in front of Dumbledore. This new act opened the floor for a question which had bugged many for so long.

It was Mrs. Weasley, who spoke first. Albus knew she would have taken in the boy on the spot ever since she laid eyes on him just as surely as he knew the coming question.

"Why did you leave him there, Albus?" she asked. She was merely confused instead of doubting him like some were. Yet how could they know? Many of the old order, that had stood against the tide of darkness that had swept the country back then, had only an inkling to the pressure he had been under. They had stood with him. They had been a light in a tide of darkness. But even that light had been diluted.

Dumbledore sighed tiredly.

"I was the only authority left back then. Who else would you have entrusted young Harry to? The ministry was in shambles. You couldn't know for sure who was a death eater, under imperio or a spy." He began. "And considering there was a spy even among the marauders, then how could I trust anyone with Harry?"

Sirius clenched his fists in anger. If he hadn't gone after Peter Pettigrew, also known as Wormtail, then things would have been different. A fact he lamented more and more these days.

"So I decided to make certain of Harry's safety above all." Dumbledore said. "And I knew just the place. Because what happened that night when Voldemort tasted defeat the first time was no freak accident or dumb luck. It was magic of a special kind. A kind of which I more often than not can only gist at what can do. That is what swayed me to place Harry at the Dursley's because his bond to his mother protects him from harm."

This comment earned him some strange looks so Dumbledore had to explain a bit about the blood magic protecting Harry.

"I am not saying that I did the best thing possible for Harry, but I saw no other choice and I had no allies outside the order whom I could trust given the circumstances."

"Especially now in hindsight i see my folly. Alas, fate has played me for a fool. That which I sought to protect the most, vanished from behind the very bulwarks meant to protect it. Despite all my precautions Harry has now disappeared into thin air. I fear he's nowhere within reach of any of us."

The room was silent until Hermione silently spoke up.

"So what about Hedwig? Who'll look after his owl?" she nudged her head at the owl now sitting on her shoulder whom was doing it's best to avoid the bushy hair of her human furniture.

As if answering the question she took off and landed on Albus' shoulder, hooting softly.

"It seems that won't be needed, Ms. Granger. I have an inkling that it is Hedwig here who will be looking after me to make sure that I find Harry again. With such a devoted friend keeping an eye on me, I am certain it won't be long." he chuckled in good humour.

That brought some smiles around. Hedwig just appraised him. In Albus' eyes, she'd shown an uncanny pragmatism seeking him out, which was strangely befitting of a wizards owl. Harry was simply full of surprises.

However not all were good, he had to remind himself. The old wizard had finally begun to unravel the mystery behind Harry's scar and the more he learned, the more he worried.

* * *

"A word, Mr. Potter?" Colbert called out as Harry and Louise gathered their writing supplies with the rest of the students. They stopped in their tracks and met the professor.

"Now, Mr. Potter, I've never seen such markings before and it quite piqued my interest." he said jubilantly with no hint of deceit. Harry was just about to begin an explanation but the professor interrupted him in his excitement.

"Now, I understand that you've just recently been summoned here as Ms. Vallière's familiar, but it wasn't until just now that it struck me that you could be from literally anywhere."

"Literally anywhere wouldn't cut it, Professor" Harry chuckled. This further intrigued the man and Harry wondered why he hadn't taken the time to seek out any of the teachers sooner.

"That really begs the question, Mr. Potter, where do our familiars come from? Many mages doesn't care for such so-called inane questions. They only focus on the results, and will turn a blind eye as to the whys. But such knowledge interests me. Mr. Potter, may I ask where you're from? You seem familiar with our language so I hope that you could perhaps point it out on a map, if shown?" A small nudge of his staff and a map flew onto the teachers table in front of the blackboard. Using a staff as a magic focus seemed overly impractical in Harry's opinion, but again, he was not exactly unbiased in opinion.

Harry glanced at Louise and she blinked in confusion. If Colbert believed that Harry was lying for whatever reason, then he would likely get in trouble. He knew that such a would somehow spell trouble for Louise too. But it was worth the risk.

He gave the map a look-over. He didn't recognize anything even as he tilted his head. And the names were unreadable. He turned to the excited professor. He could lie, he supposed, but what good would that help. He was their mistake and he would certainly make them fix it, just as Hogwarts would fix their mistakes if the situation were reversed. And if Harry played his cards right, not only would this man be able to help him, he'd literally beg Harry to allow him to help. It would all be very slytherin of him if it wasn't because he was being such a goody two shoes about it.

"I don't recognize this map, sir." Harry stated simply. He could have said more, but he stopped sharp. Instead, he let the statement sink in. It took only a second.

"You don't recognize... the... map..." First the professor frowned, thoughts and meanings clearly whirling around inside his head. _Hook._ Then he seemed to strike a specific idea and took up a thinking pose. _Line._ Then his eyes widened in sudden realization in the same manner as Harry and his group when they figured out another piece to whatever mystery they were unraveling. _And sinker._

For Colbert, it would be the point of no return. With a minimal of effort on Harry's part, Colbert was in an open frame of mind and seemed to trust Harry at face value. Harry was confident that even if the professor couldn't help, he'd try.

"You don't mean you're from off the map?" Colbert said in surprise. "Beyond the holy lands then? Or across the ocean? Or were you simply created? Is that even possible?" He began to mutter. Harry cut him off.

"I find that highly unlikely, Professor. I think we must go way farther out than you realize, unless you can tell me where I can find a place that has only one moon."

Now all he could hope for was that the professor really believed him or could even grasp the concept.

"And that place, is where you learned to write those markings? This place with only one moon?" The professors voice was grave and serious. But he was listening intently.

"And more. However I couldn't understand the language when I first got here. I was a bit dizzy when I came to, but it all sounded like french to me." Harry explained. Then again, given the option he would take waking up in France to being summoned here any day.

"French?" Colbert inquired.

"A language most foul, I assure you, Professor." Harry nodded seriously. "It wasn't until Louise cast a... erm... translation spell, that I was able to understand anything. I still can't read the written language."

"A translation spell. Very well done, Ms. Vallière," Colbert turned to Louise. She flushed from the praise. She hadn't struck him as a teachers pet, though she seemed to relish the praise. He had the feeling that this should have been a regular occurrence, but wasn't. He didn't understand, so he let it go.

Harry pointed onto the map to draw Colbert's attention back again. "What are these nations called? Where is Tristan?" he asked.

"This is _Tristain_" Colbert said as he pointed it out on the map. "And this is Gallia, Germania, Romalia and Albion."

The familiarity with the names felt eerily uncanny. Tristain gave him no associations, but Germania was a dead giveaway to Germany from Earth. Thinking back to his history classes from public school it was fairly easy to remember that the area of Germany had been called Germania in the roman period or something like that. And the Romans had fought the Gauls from... somewhere north of Rome? Albion was the easiest one to place. It was one of the old names for England and being an island on the map was also helping. Though it was all misshapen as if it was actually just England and nothing else. He didn't know anything about Romalia though with a bit of a stretch it could defer to the Roman empire? Or Roma? What did that make Tristain then? Belgium and the Netherlands? It seemed more likely than Switzerland certainly but he had no idea.

Which begged the question, why? Why all this familiarity? He certainly hadn't traveled back in time. That was implausible. Or was it? More implausible than magic? He sincerely hoped so. Perhaps he was in an alternative universe and it just wanted to taunt him with the familiarity of a world that was unmistakably foreign to him. Both places had magic, but it was not the same magic. It was Europe, however a much bastardized version. Which brought up thoughts of home.

He shuddered to think of what horrors his poor England would suffer in this dimension. Evil dark lords and who knew what could be on the move and he'd likely have a run in with them later. That seemed to be the only possibility given Harry's luck. Fate had never been Harry's best pal.

He considered offering what he thought of the nations but stopped himself. Such claims would sound even more crazy and were rather irrelevant. At least he had something to weigh his culture against. Feudal Europe with magic playing a central part in it all. He wondered how many tendencies from his old world carried over. For example, that everyone at the academy are nobles could mean that muggleborns weren't accepted or that muggleborns simply didn't exist outside of illegitimate offspring. Or perhaps that magic was the trait that defined nobility. If so, it was no wonder that most got it in their head that they were of a higher pedigree.

"In any case Mr. Potter, it seems I have to let you two loose if you are to enjoy any of your free period before the next class starts. However I would like to continue our talk at a later time if possible." Colbert said. "I find the existence of unexplored foreign places and cultures to be an exhilarating thought. Ms. Vallière, Mr. Potter. You're dismissed."

Instead of arguing that his homeplace certainly was thoroughly explored he simply gave his farewells and left in tow with Louise. In Harry's eyes the professor seemed more interested in learning of Harry's place of origin than of Harry's plight. But again, Harry hadn't really pointed out that he didn't want to be here. In being lost in his thoughts, he'd totally missed the opportunity to ask about getting home.

_'All in good time. I'll just bear it for a while, I guess,_' he thought sullenly. '_At least my world is going nowhere._'

* * *

For the umpteenth time Harry glanced at his companion. It was the last class of the day. Another professor, a woman who identified herself as Chevreuse, was talking about alchemy and some simple rules pertaining to it. It was rather like transfiguration in effect, however very different in approach. Apparently.

It involved wandwaving and words all the same. So he made a few notes to test it out later.

At several points in the lesson, Chevreuse asked the class for answers or demonstrations, however Louise had not even batted an eyelash at the questions. Neither was she picked for any of them. He wouldn't really have noticed it if it wasn't a hard blow to the Hermione-facade he was trying to build her up as in his mind. The questions were easy. Even Harry could make qualified guesses as to their answers. However instead of answering she just wrote notes and let people like Guiche, Montmorency and Kirche hog all the glory.

Speaking of Kirche, she had kept glancing at Harry strangely most of the day. He'd paid it little mind at first, but such things always worried him when it was by an individual. Especially when the individual was a woman. Perhaps it was because of the last time Harry had told all of them, being Guiche, Montmorency, Kirche, Tabitha and of course Louise that he would rather not have it publicly known that he was a wizard, and now she thought he was weird or something. It was plausible. That's what usually happened.

He didn't want to draw attention. Which brought him back to Louise. Why wasn't she drawing any attention to herself, instead of just sitting in the back of all classes scribbling notes. Had she meant us and not just me, when she said she didn't want attention? That didn't exactly make sense. So far attention had seemed to be sought after more viciously than vampires stalked for blood, by the aristocrats. It was the figurative lifeblood of the aristocracy around here. And she was an aristocrat, there was no doubt about it. So why wasn't she playing the game of thrones as nobles were prone to?

He'd even caught her trying to replicate a few of his letters and even words and experimenting with them as if the lesson had stopped being as interesting as his gibberish.

The only other person who acted like this was the blue haired mystery, Tabitha. Sneaking a look her way, he saw her openly reading her book. A book that did not match the ones everyone else had on their tables and hadn't used as reading hadn't been assigned yet. She'd been picked once by her teacher this lesson. Apparently the teacher had thought to embarrass the girl since she wasn't paying attention, but she answered flawlessly, if a bit curtly, giving only a glance before resuming her book.

In Harry's opinion, now having a little experience to judge her from, it spoke volumes about her character, without really having hinted at a single thing. An indirect proof marked by the absence of the normal and expected. She was an enigma of a kind he'd never encountered before. Disinterested in everyone and everything around her except for that book in front of her. Undivided focus, or rather, a lack of commitment to the daily happenings around her. Interesting as she was, he laid it at the back of his mind. Magic was being taught and unlike the familiar brand he'd grown used to, he was still a bit too excited about this new kind to not pay apt attention.

Next up the teacher asked for a volunteer to perform a piece of magic. Kirche flashed him a dangerous look, boldly holding eye contact and raised her hand.

"Yes, Ms. Zerbst? Would you like to attempt the spell?" Chevreuse acknowledged the redhead. The redhead glanced their way again. Now it could have meant anything. But he had learned of their mutual animosity and this behavior was something he'd expect from Draco in a potions class. It had happened before, although Professor Snape had seemed to relish the opportunity. It was the same superior smirk.

Harry poked Louise's elbow. "Heads up. Something is fishy."

Louise however paid him no notice. She had suddenly grown very attached to her notes, which she'd enclosed herself over. Harry frowned. Just a few minutes ago, she hadn't bothered much with them.

"Thank you, Professor. However I was thinking, why don't we give Louise a try? After all, it has been some time since her last attempt." Kirche said in an most innocent tone. Several things happened simultaneously.

Louise jerked in surprise and spilled a blob of oil, ruining half a day's worth of notes. Many people began shifting uncomfortably. Tabitha set down her book and glanced up for.

"What are you thinking, Kirche? Have you lost your mind?" A blond girl, whom he didn't know, stood and asked in disbelief. The red head gave her a hard stare and the girl sat down with a squeak. However Kirche couldn't quell the simmer of hushed whispers that had sprung from nowhere from the suggestion.

"Quiet down everyone." The professor called out. Even she was acting strange.

"Ms. Zerbst, I will not grant your request and I am certain that Louise can make such decisions for herself in the future unless called upon. Now why don't you try instead?" Chevreuse insisted perhaps a bit more forcefully than strictly necessary in Harry's opinion.

"My pleasure, Professor." Kirche answered without missing a beat and proceeded to ace the spell. "Such a simple spell is nothing for a mage like myself, Kirche the Ardent. I apologize for the uproar; I was just concerned for the education of my fellow schoolmate."

A blatant lie if Harry had ever heard one.

Beside him, Louise trembled in silent anger. Harry sympathized with her, though he was in doubt that he had caught everything that had just transpired in front of him. Though he certainly got the gist of it. Louise was not a normal mage. In any case while making sure his wand was concealed he muttered a quick spell, fixing notes before anyone would notice it. She stared in surprise at her small charm and then at him. She glared at the notes as if they had offended her and discarded her quill on the table, much to his surprise. As luck would have it, class ended a few moments later.

Louise was the first out the door as she had hastily packed her stuff and raced out. Harry sighed and gathered his own few things she'd loaned him before heading out after her. He was aware of several eyes following him on the way out, through with accustomed ease he paid it little mind.

He didn't find Louise in her room. So instead he dumped his borrowed stuff off and went out to look for her again. As he opened the door he came almost face to face with a maid. Besides the usual maid outfit, she had dark hair that framed a kind face and had, though as a respectable English gentleman, he would never pay attention to such a detail at first glance, a rather well-endowed bust.

"Hi, Mr. Potter. I was wondering if you had time. I've been meaning to ask you something." she asked him.

"I'm sorry, lady, but I don't have time at the moment. Would you mind if we talked later?" Harry said. He had to go and find Louise. Girls tended to be the most sad when they wanted nothing to do with anyone. In Harry's mind that made it all the more dire to act. The last time he'd seen behavior like that was from Hermione back in first year when Ron had been a prat and had said things which had hurt her. Well, Ron was still a prat sometimes now, but they'd all grown on each other since.

On the other hand, why was he trying to help Louise? Well, it seemed like the right thing to do. He didn't want to stand by passively when people were hurting.

"Uhm, sure, that's okay. It can wait." the maid replied, though she began fidgeting with her maid skirt. '_It seems unlikely that it can wait for long, since you showed up outside my door right after classes have ended._' Harry thought, though he didn't comment on it.

"Thanks, we'll talk later, I promise. Now erm, what was your name?" She brightened at that.

"My name is Siesta. It's nice to meet you." she said.

"Likewise, Siesta." Harry said. "You haven't seen Louise around by any chance?"

"Miss De Vallière? Last I saw her she was headed for the fields," Siesta said, looking thoughtful.

Harry said his thanks and set out. At first he didn't exactly know where to look. But soon he heard an explosion off in the distance. If it meant what Harry thought it meant, then he'd been spot on, which was bad. He grimaced, though he didn't stop walking in that direction and after a minute or so, Louise came in sight among heaps of up-heaved earth and grass. Her dress was slightly ripped and she had soot on face from the explosions, though she didn't seem to mind much in her anger.

And she really was angry, that much was apparent. Harry approached cautiously before he called out to her.

She turned around and glared at him with her wand arm twitching, which was never a good sign. He didn't want to be an outlet for her anger.

"What's wrong, Louise?" he asked and immediately smacked himself. '_What a stupid question._'

"Go away!" she yelled at him.

"No can do." he replied as he stopped a few meters away.

"Leave me alone!" she yelled at him with a hint of desperation. "As your master, I command you!"

"Tough luck, pinky," he snorted at her. "Besides if I did that I'd be alone too. And I'm already enough lost in this world as it is."

"Yeah right." She laughed humorlessly. "You have lots of people who'd be your friend. Just ask anybody!"

Harry didn't know what to say at this point. He disagreed of course, given the rather hostile reception he'd had so far, but that wouldn't seem to be helping her any. However as he stayed silent she raised her wand and went back to venting her frustrations on the school grounds.

"You should stop doing that." Harry commented, but she studiously ignored him and blasted another crater. Clumps of earth and grass flew everywhere. As she raised her wand again, he drew his own wand and summoned her wand out of her hand. She whirled on the spot and glared at him. She seemed to get stuck in indecision about whether to break down and cry without her crutch of making things explode or emulate her magic and in a manner, explode herself. Harry hoped for the first, then she might open up about the problem so they could deal with what was bugging her. However Louise settled for the latter.

"**Fine!**" She stomped her foot down as if everything was nothing but _not_ fine and went up to him and said to his face. "**I** **get it**!"

'It' apparently being some now obvious truth was the common cause behind all eating of babies and other reprehensible acts of undiluted evil.

"You're a great mage. You're fantastic even!" Louise yelled, anger in everything from her tone to her wild gestures. "However you can stop showing off now. You have convinced me of your superiority!"

It was more snarl than speech really. Then, doing Harry had least expected from a noble and a mage, she punched his shoulder, hard, and stormed off. Harry had been so surprised that he'd not even tried to evade the punch. Many people had made wrong opinions of Harry throughout his school time. No matter what he did, people just wouldn't listen to him and it was starting to piss him off.

Even as he rubbed his aching shoulder, he yelled straight back at her.

"You don't get it all, do you?" Harry said angrily at her back. Curiously enough she stopped so he continued. He would have anyway, but it was easier than yelling his lungs out. "Anything I do is taken always out of context and made into some crazy story of me seeking attention. But I don't even want it. I just want to be Harry, but nobody ever listens to me!"

She glanced once over her shoulder, looking thoughtful before huffing as she marched off.

Harry just exhaled slowly, feeling his tense body slowly relax. He didn't want to follow her right now. Her last comment had pissed him off. Especially because she might not realize how close to home that she'd hit, unintentionally.

'_I'm just Harry'_ he'd always told himself. It had been his mantra over the years as he'd battled dementors, basilisks and what else was unleashed upon him. People's adulation and their criticism couldn't change him, because he had his center in place. But deep down, another thought reared its head as it did whenever called up. He wasn't like other people. He was _special_. And Harry hated it because every time he thought of it, he was only a hair's breath away from thinking _freakish_ instead.

"Trouble with the trollop, Harry?" A new voice asked. He whirled around and came face to face with Kirche. He hadn't even noticed her. "You shouldn't worry about her."

"I respectfully disagree with your assessment of yourself, by the way." She said without missing a beat. "You may already have noticed, but I find you _very interesting_."

"What do you want, Kirche?" Harry ignored her flirting as best as he could but her bashfulness caught him off guard. Kirche was a pretty woman, and Harry was a growing teen. He had never faced a situation with a girl making such obvious moves on him and it unsettled him. But after the stunt she'd pulled in class he was fairly sure she was behind all of today's drama. In Harry's mind that overrode any compulsions on the matter.

"Isn't is obvious, Harry dear?" Kirche purred. "I want you, of course. And the Zerbst family always get what they want. Especially in cases such as this one. I won't let a Vallière like her stop me."

"What did you do?" Harry asked her coldly. He was starting to get angry again.

"I did what any woman in my position would have done. I eliminated all the obstacles between us and gave myself the opportunity to talk to you. _One. on. One._" Kirche said, smirking confidently. Louise was an obstacle. As Harry's master she'd try to keep them separated because of the animosity between their families. Now she'd be too distraught and meek to get in her way for a while. And by that time it'd be too late.

"You really should discard yourself of her, Harry. You're way too interesting to be wasted on that Vallière-girl. You could become my familiar instead." In this world, people respected power and beauty. Kirche had both in spades. All she needed to do was to break Louise's hold on her familiar.

"You see, what I did was simply showcasing what everyone already knows about Louise, barring you of course." The redhead said conspiratorially. "Around here, she is known Louise the Zero."

She made a dramatic pause.

"Louise has zero skill at performing magic and a zero percent success rate with all her attempted magic. I would say her only achievement outside of making explosions would be summoning you."

Harry was surprised, but he took it all in stride. And things pretty much made sense now. A smart girl who can't perform magic in a school full of ambitious self-entitled nobles. It must have been like being the only muggleborn in a pureblood academy. The only squib in a wizard family. The only freak in a little house in Surrey. Unforgivable.

"Zero is really descriptive of her actually." Kirche said faux thoughtfully. "She has zero friends, zero sex appeal, zero personality and zero bust." With the last comment she offhandedly pulled attention to her own large buxom, which was quite clearly showing cleavage.

Harry sighed. His patience had run out.

"That changes nothing, really. On second thought it only makes it worse." Harry said as he stared her down. "What you did to her was cruel."

"All is fair in love and war." Kirche said unabashed. "Louise would have tried to stop us. You don't like being controlled do you? Especially by someone weaker than yourself, right?"

"There's no us, Kirche." Harry said coolly.

"Oh, but there will be, you just don't know it yet." Kirche said smirking. So he hadn't simply submitted himself after her first attempt. That would almost have been boring, so that was fine. Neither did he change his mind when she had told him about how useless Louise was. She could respect that. And that left the last option. She freely admitted to having kind of hoped for it to present itself.

"I'll just have to forcefully kidnap you and show you just what you're missing out on." She said as if she weren't planning on abducting him.

For the slightest moment, Harry's body told him of the folly of defending himself against the pretty, nay, beautiful sexy woman who wanted to love his socks off. Somehow it didn't sound as wrong as it actually was. He squashed the feeling immediately. Harry wouldn't let anyone rape him today, or any other day for that matter. It really was a principle matter. Together with his moral compass, the bodily urges of a lonely teen was massively outvoted.

"I guess you're right, Kirche." Harry said. "I actually do not like being controlled by those weaker than me."

Kirche raised an eyebrow at the implied insult and brandished her wand as Harry did the same. It was simple. Disarm Harry and he was hers to play with. If Harry disarmed her, well then it was another matter altogether. She liked to think she was his then, but she had an inkling that it wouldn't work like that. In that case she would likely have lost her best shot at getting to him. _'So I better make this one count'_ Kirche thought. She wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

A/N: It's been a while since my last update. I am sorry to cheat you out of a fight, but this chapter was dragging on. Hopefully that means I can quickly start on the next chapter. This time Harry will be facing someone who has seen what he can do and isn't caught flatfooted like Guiche was.

As mentioned this one is a bit longer than the others - mostly that's because of the rather lengthy bits from the HP world. We'll be following what happens because I need something to happen there. And it must feel nice to you to know that the HP-verse didn't combust from a lack of HP (geddit? :3 ).

As always, thanks for all the reviews. I'll try to respond to as many as I can, but I'm lazy and disorganized so don't expect too much from me :)


	4. 4: Diplomacy

**_Diplomacy_**

* * *

_"I'll just have to forcefully kidnap you and show you just what you're missing out on."_

* * *

"Protego!"

With a flourish, Harry deflected a fireball over his shoulder. Pointing the wand back at his assailant, Kirche the Ardent, he fired two stunners in quick succession, hoping to end the match before it could really start. Showing an uncanny agility, she dodged the red colored spell.

They traded a few stunners and fireballs, while gauging the other's move. Harry would mostly deflect her fireballs and she would duck and weave around his counterattacks. Harry didn't really want to go away from using the simple stunner, even if she had seen through it already. After all, he didn't want to actually hurt her and the Stupify spell really delivered in that regard.

However Kirche seemed to mind less and less about escalating the fight. Chanting a few words of power, she called forth a stream of fire from the tip of her wand. Harry quickly countered with an Aquamenti spell before he had to dodge out of the way to clear away from the hot steam.

Before he fired another spell, she unleashed, quite suddenly in Harry's opinion, a wall of flame well above his own height at him. Eyes widening, he quickly dived into the nearest of the craters Louise had recently made, face-down. After a moment of searing heat had passed, he quickly stood and instantly had to jump out of the crater to avoid a fireball, which proceeded to blast the whole crater into pieces.

It struck him that perhaps she merely wanted to maim him for rejecting her instead of abducting him for romantic purposes.

"You're quite good at dodging, Harry!" Kirche yelled out. "But you won't escape me for long by doing that."

She was right, of course. But he hadn't really been out to hurt her yet. That was about to change. He was getting royally tired of being pushed around like a piece of meat.

"Incendio!" he called out. Her cloak burst into flame at the hem. She instantly panicked and shifted her attention, but before she had time to shrug off the cloak, he fired a blasting curse at her feet, creating another crater and blasting her off her feet. Firing another stunner, he narrowly missed, as she rolled out of the way and came to a stand without her cloak.

"If that is your way to get me undressed," Kirche said, smiling deviously. "Then I like it."

Harry growled as he fired another blasting curse. Mostly just to shut her up as she was really getting to him. It worked, as she had to keep moving to avoid being blown sky high. Far from a lethal tactic, it was however not quite as clean as the stunner. A sudden explosion of dirt and grass at his own feet suddenly brought him on the defensive as the situation was reversed.

As he was literally attempted blown off his feet, Harry found no time counterattack. He was given a quick reprieve when she had to stop for breath for a moment. Apparently her spell casting wasn't as easy or quick as his own was. It would have surprised him if he had stopped to think about it. He'd always been an underdog in his fights, so he didn't stop to gawk at the opportunity.

"Colloshoo!" he said forcefully, using a stickfast hex. He didn't bother trying to mask his choice of spells as neither knew the others arsenal. Not a bad choice in most cases, as an inexperienced wizard could easily be floored by such a spell if caught unawares. Kirche was already moving as Harry had expected, but instead of Kirche being rewarded by avoiding another attack, which hadn't come after all, she was instead surprised to find that her shoes suddenly stuck quite insistently to the ground, which made getting off the ground quite impossible. Luckily the two quarreling parties hastily sorted out a compromise; Kirche could keep moving forward, while the shoe stuck fast. Kirche's momentum quickly toppled her and she fell over as long as she was, as she cursed loudly at falling for his feint.

With the redhead down in the dirt and distracted, Harry finally tried to accio her wand. It flew out of her grasp but stopped mere inches from her hand by some bizarre trick. Kirche jolted back in action again with an explosive energy. She immediately reached out for her wand and grasped it again, spewing fire with it as soon as her fingers came in touch with the wood.

Harry was surprised. His spell had connected, yet something had stopped it. However he had no time to think about that mystery as he had to rear back his head or risk burning off his eyebrows. But that was about it. Her fire spells were as hot and dangerous as ever, but her firing aim was all over the place as she was trying to keep him busy, while she got off the ground. However she was doing a poor job of distracting him as it would be over in just a moment.

Or so Harry thought, till a big _something_ unexpectedly toppled him over from behind and the something, which apparently had teeth, clamped down on his wand arm. Landing on his stomach, Harry lost his grip on his wand with a startled cry. A fiery red salamander with an ashen breath and eyes that shined with dangerous intellect was on his back. Kirche's familiar had joined the fight.

Struggling as best as he could, Harry knew it was hopeless. His wand was out of reach and the jaws of the salamander restricted any use of his right arm as it held him down.

"It seems, that I win, Harry-darling" Kirche remarked as she sauntered over, taking good care to pick up Harry's wand on the way.

"You're not the only one with a few surprises." She stated, assured in her victory. "I'd expected a powerful wind mage from the way you dealt with Guiche, but you're truly something else, aren't you? Obviously, I came prepared. I saw the way you snatched Guiche's wand out of his hand so I made some precautions."

She then let her wand fall from her hand and it dropped towards the ground. Just as before the wand stopped a few inches from her hand. Now that he was close he could see a simple thread of string attaching it to her wrist. Not a very elegant solution, however it had proven its worth. Harry grimaced. He'd lost because of a single piece of thread. Without that she'd have been wandless and unable to distract him effectively, he would likely have seen or heard her familiar coming. Or maybe he was just over-thinking things and this was the only outcome.

"And as for Salamander, you should know that familiars sticks together with their mages and helps each other out. A shame that Louise left you," Kirche said. "Forget about her, Harry. You are wasted on that girl."

Harry glared at her. "I'll decide that myself! And you're crazy if you think I'll do what you want."

Kirche seemed to think that over for a moment before shrugging. "You're a real stubborn one, you know that? Geez, it's not as if I'll force myself on you."

Harry quirked an eyebrow; did she seriously just say that? "And in what way is this not forced?"

She glanced around. She was imperiously standing over him with Harry's wand in her hand and her familiar holding him still down in the dirt. He could perhaps wriggle a bit and still had his left arm free.

"I'm trying to help you here, Harry! So bear with me." she said with a hint of annoyance. "Louise doesn't deserve a familiar like you."

Once again Harry found himself being treated as a familiar first and foremost, then in most eyes a peasant second and finally a human being third. Would people ever stop making choices on his behalf?

None the less, unless Louise somehow decided to come back and then actually proceed to help him out of this mess, then he was literally at Kirche's mercy. After all he had no wand and he was being pinned down pinned down by an overgrown fire-lizard. But then he suddenly remembered; he still had Louise's wand. He hadn't given it back before she had stormed off in anger, so he'd just stuffed it in his pocket as an afterthought. A candle of hope was kindled and Harry could almost not keep the grin off his face.

"You can do better than her, Harry." Kirche smiled. "I'll show you exactly how well. Now relax, we're heading out."

Harry almost wasn't listening. He was busy figuratively grasping at straws. He realized that it was kind of desperate. Louise's wand might not even work with his magic at all. Should he attempt their kind of magic for this to work? He couldn't even recall a practical spell from the last few days. Even just from touch he knew their wand types were different. They carried out the same purpose, but wands had no distinct feel from each other here. They came in all sizes and forms, but they were all the same to him, unlike the wands back home, where the wand chose the wizard.

But none of that was on his mind as his free hand withdrew the wand from his left pocket, a spell already on his lips. If Kirche hadn't stood in point blank range and her wand had been in her hand instead of dangling on a piece of thread, she might have been able to do something to avoid it. But as it was, Kirche hardly had a moment to react to it, outside of flinching.

"Ventus!" Harry yelled, hoping it would work. And it did. Unexpectedly well, actually. A mighty gust of wind blasted Kirche several meters away where she fell in a heap; less than a second after, the salamander was likewise blown off and then stopped short, hovering in place up in the air. The animal began thrashing about helplessly in confusion at its new predicament.

Harry was up and standing before Kirche, and he immediately tried to stun her to end the battle. However nothing happened, when the last few spells had gone off without a hitch. More powerful than normal even, which was strange as magic didn't work that way, and he felt nothing from the wand in hand that would indicate it had anything to do with it. It was just an extraordinary piece of wood. Ron's wand back second year had more of the familiar magical tingle to it than this glorified stick, and Ron's wand had been broken and fixed with the wizard equivalent of duct tape.

Kirche was still down for the count, so he looked for his own wand and saw that Kirche had dropped it midflight. A quick accio spell, which luckily worked, saved him precious seconds to go get it.

Harry immediately changed back to his own wand. It was reassuringly warm in his hand, as if welcoming him back. He then went about stunning the dazed Kirche, which went entirely uneventful. Suddenly not wanting to forget about the familiar who had surprised him once already, Harry stunned the salamander too before setting it down on the ground. Disarming Kirche of her wand and quickly looking for any extra wands in the least intrusive way imaginable, he finally enervated her. It was judgment time.

"What happened?" Kirche mumbled her first words in confusion, as she came to. Harry would gladly tell her.

"You bullied Louise just for a chat with me." Harry answered her. "And then, when I didn't want to have anything to do with you for doing that, you outright attacked me."

"And why was that? Well, you got the bright idea to try to kidnap me against my will; which for the record is only be the second time this week that happened!" he finally yelled, angrily. This was obviously not what she'd been asking about, but Harry didn't particularly care. She didn't need to know.

"What made you think that any of this would be okay?" Harry finally asked expectantly.

"Well, when you put it like that, it obviously sounds bad." Kirche said shrugging, having come to her senses. "But you know, I did this for your sake! Louise doesn't even appreciate you at all!"

"If this wasn't about Louise then you should have left her out of this, Kirche. I am not some damsel in distress waiting to be rescued. You leave her for me to figure out." Harry ground out. "But this isn't about Louise. This is about you harming innocent people and me, without giving a care for anybody but yourself. I can take care of myself without you doing as you please on my behalf."

"Did you somehow think that any of this would make me like you?" Harry asked. "I won't allow you to make decisions for me."

"Fine, I get it. You can choose for yourself and you really don't like me. And it's probably justified too." Kirche said. "But what's a woman to do? Play _nice _with all the other kids? No way!"

"It'd be a start." Harry grumbled. With that he threw her wand over his shoulder and walked back to the academy, leaving Kirche alone to her thoughts.

* * *

Looking at his retreating form, Kirche wondered how things had gone so bad. This anger and bitterness was not what she'd wanted. Harry had certainly been doing his to resist her temptation and one didn't resist something they were immune to, so she hadn't been totally wrong in her approach. She still had it. But he was obviously so mad now that any chance of getting him was pretty much out of the picture for who knew how long. Not that she really entertained that thought anymore.

She sighed in exasperation. She had grown overconfident on this academy. The boys had been so easy; they had simply flocked to her, feeding her ego to a point where she and indeed everyone had thought too highly of her and she could choose among them as she pleased. Such popularity had helped her reputation which had further increased her popularity and success with the boys. But now she paid the price when an outsider came along who wasn't in the know on local market. Harry hadn't gotten the memo that you didn't just deny Kirche.

But now that Kirche thought it all over, she wasn't really that interested in Harry anymore. The novelty was waning. Sure, he was a powerful mage, kind and not hard to look at. And the little scar on his forehead, and the confidence he walked around with. But if she was honest, she'd really just been extremely curious in a Zerbsts way. He had been special from the first moment he'd arrived there; a new and interesting type of boy, who had appeared when she had been tiring of the local variety of aristocrats. For some time, in her eyes, Harry'd had an attitude to him that made him stand out unlike the locals. That he'd not immediately bent around her finger had only further interested her and somewhere after meeting him, she had lost control in the spur of the moment. The added bonus of taking something from a Valliére was also enticing; something that was forbidden her.

But in the end he wasn't her type. Way too serious when provoked. Their personalities would clash horribly. It would never have worked in the long term, not that she'd ventured there yet. On the other hand, she would probably always hold a little soft spot for him; He was still the one that got away.

* * *

As Harry entered Louise's room, the first thing he noticed was that Louise was here, laying on the bed and staring emptily at the ceiling. She looked neither angry nor sad. But she had changed into a new uniform, apparently despite her earlier demands that a respectable noble with servants shouldn't be clothing themselves if possible. Harry didn't know if that meant a good or a bad thing here.

"Loui-" he started but was interrupted.

"Familiar" she stated neutrally. "Give me my wand. And be sure to remember to call me by my last name or master as is proper of our relationship."

He returned her wand to her and silently sat down on his soft hay cot, his back against the wall.

Seconds passed. And after a few more the silence almost stretched into a full minute. Harry felt sorry for her and he could emphasize with her. Being ostracized was something he knew well of. And she always seemed to talk about meeting expectations. To her Harry was supposed to act as an exemplary familiar and she was supposed to act with dignity becoming of a noble. A fitting noble is in control and shares equality with his or her peers based on their magical abilities. Except that Louise didn't have much magical ability to show for her efforts, so she worked manically to close the gap in every other possible way. So it wasn't too strange to Harry that she'd been strict on him with all the familiar-business. She strove so hard so she could be accepted on equal ground by her peers. With that in mind, Harry could calm himself. Now that he felt he understood the situation, he could deal with it. After a while, after he'd thought up what to say, he spoke up.

"I'm sorry, Louise. I didn't know about any of that zero stuff. But for what it is worth, I'll try to help."

Louise didn't seem to register his response at first. She might have chosen to ignore him, since he'd ignored the formalities.

"It's a familiar's job to help their master and I told you to call me by my last name," she said, in toneless voice. "You're a bad familiar."

She was frustrated and disappointed in herself. Despite only knowing her for a day, she might as well wear her emotions on her sleeve as far as Harry was concerned.

Harry chuckled a bit. "You got that right. I'm not good at all this familiar stuff."

Louise seemed conflicted. With a great huff of frustration, she chucked her pillow off the bed. It hit the wall with a soft plop.

"Ugh, why do you suddenly agree with me?" Louise said in a frustrated tone. "It's not you at all. It's because of me. Kirche is right. I am Louise the Zero. I have zero talent for being a mage of any kind."

"You shouldn't let that stop you though." Harry said. This finally drew a reaction as she turned her head his way, an eyebrow raised.

"Huh? What?" Louise said. It was a bit of a ridiculous thing to say to a girl on a magical academy, but Harry was all about guts and stuff like that. At least he reasoned so. He was definitely stubborn in a good way. Besides, he didn't handle depressed people well, so he'd rather she got over it sooner rather than never.

"Really, you shouldn't." Harry insisted again. At her perplexed expression he stopped. He'd piqued her interest enough that she would listen, but he wasn't going at this problem from the right direction. He couldn't just spell out what he thought and cram it down her throat. She'd just choke on it figuratively. He needed a bit more finesse; Harry's mind quickly jumped to the name of Remus Lupin. How would Lupin deal with this?

First of all, he'd try and be understanding. And Lupin would tell him stories about his father and the other marauders, back when they were all together, keying in some nuggets of advice. Harry didn't know Louise's family and she probably already knew her father without Harry trying to tell her about him. But there was someone else he could tell her about.

"You remind me of one of my friends from back home." Harry began. He'd told her a lot about his world so far, though with the sheer amount of stuff to tell, he had barely scratched the surface, but Harry generally kept quiet when it came to himself. He had been hesitant to tell, and though he knew she wanted to ask, she hadn't.

"His name is Neville Longbottom and he's a bit of a klutz when it comes to magic. So there are people, who pick on him because of that." Harry began. "But despite that he shows a lot of courage when it counts and he stands up for what he believes in, always. He's got the Gryffindor courage. In my first year, that courage won us the House Cup."

Of course, Harry let out the fact that he himself had been part of winning that cup. Technically he'd only earned back the points he'd lost for breaking rules after all, despite his good intentions. Now that he had begun talking, he fondly began to remember all kinds of things about poor endearing Neville. Harry made a mental note to hang out more with the boy if he ever got back. Heck, he'd hang more out with everyone if that was possible.

"The house cup?" Louise asked.

"It's a special prize one of the four houses can win. Remember what I told you about the house points the teachers can give and the 4 houses?" Harry explained. She nodded. Earlier, he had told her of Hogwarts and their four houses, glossing over what the different things represented and such.

"At the end of our year we were only a few points behind the Slytherin house who had won the house cup several years in a row at that time.

"So at the last moment, when everyone thought that Slytherin was going to win for another year, our headmaster gives out ten points to Neville for standing up for what he believed in even against his friends. And then we won the cup." Harry said wistfully.

"That seems kind of crooked," Louise remarked casually.

"Well, now you mention it. It kinda does." Harry sniggered. "But seeing the look on the slytherins' faces, it was the best end of the year ever."

He kind of enjoyed these small talks. It was hard to reconcile the attentive listener with the demanding noble.

"Anyways, when it comes to botany class, there's none better than Neville in our year." Harry said. "So even if you think you have zero talent, you are simply looking at the problem the wrong way or haven't gone about it the right way. I feel, that Neville will get better too one day. And even if he does not get any better, then it doesn't matter; he's got the heart in the right place. But I don't believe that you have zero talent. You just need to find out what you're good at and hold on to it while you keep improving what you're bad at."

She now looked on with mixture of confusion and doubt.

"What are you up to? Why are you doing all this?" Louise said as got up in a seating position. "You're my familiar and you hate that, so why are you being all helpful and nice?"

Harry wondered that too. Though it was partly done out of pity, it was mostly because he understood how it was to be singled out. Harry himself, was often singled out on Hogwarts, which wasn't bad half the time, though last year with the triwizard tournament, which had split the school's opinion about him in two, had been very bad. Without support from Ron and Hermione, though Ron had been a bit of a prat at the time, Harry would never have gotten through that year.

"That's because we're in this together for better or worse. And you're not so bad when you're not so caught up in what everyone thinks of you and playing that aristocrat game."

"What game? And what do you mean 'What others think'?" Louise asked, perplexed.

"Well, yeah... like not bowing to everyone's expectations and ermh... doing what you want rather than what you think will make you fit in." Harry said a bit lamely. "For example why are you letting what other people do with their familiars decide how you treat me for example? You know I'm not like other familiars and it's not their business to decide what goes and what doesn't."

Harry had waited a long time for this talk. After facing down Kirche, it was time to get even with people and he'd start here.

"And now we're talking about decisions, I will be having a say in this, as a participant. Having a familiar isn't a master/slave relationship. It is a partnership with mutual respect that goes both ways. I am not your servant to do with as you please.

It would be best, if you didn't think of me as your familiar." Harry said seriously. Louise needed to understand that. It hadn't been bad yet. So far he'd only had to clean her clothes, which was easily done with magic. That wasn't really a chore, though he didn't like the implication that he was literally a glorified house elf. He had to nip this in the bud.

* * *

Louise looked at her familiar in disbelief; though she shouldn't have been surprised. It had been a long time in coming.

Here he was, her familiar, basically laying down the ground rules for their partnership if it could be called that. And she found herself numbly nodding to this, giving up the last vestiges of power, which was a meek illusion at best any way.

He wanted a partnership of mutual respect and equality? Harry was much better than her at magic. When he finally unveiled himself as a mage, he would be more respected than she ever was at the academy. She didn't expect to have earned his respect. She still had to prove herself. Her life was a never-ending quest to prove herself these days and the hurdles grew higher and higher.

Shared decision-making? That had been a mistake to begin with and she was paying for it now. She could not refuse. Who was the bound one here?

"Fine, you win. I can't force you to do anything anyway." Louise said dejectedly. Just a few words and with that, she had sealed away her claim on her familiar. She needed to do damage control. "But don't go around telling people that or get yourself into trouble. People will still hold me responsible for it and I won't stand for that, so don't get any ideas."

"Huh," The boy seemed almost surprised as his serious frown slid off his face.

"I will try not to get into trouble. But it kind of follows me around." Harry answered sheepishly. Louise just arched an eyebrow, though she held her tongue. It was better not to ask about these kinds of things.

"Anyways, I won't make you to do my chores or other unwanted familiar business anymore." She said. "But that begs the question. What will you do now? You're as free as can be."

She said the last with an almost quivering voice, though she smothered as ruthlessly as she could. It would be bad if he left. People would ask questions and they would talk. Then, if word got out, she might get a letter from home. A mage without a familiar; she might get pulled out from school. Louise didn't want that. She knew what would come next then: Marriage of the political kind. Harry wanted freedom, a naïve notion, as none were truly free in a world such as this. Obligations bound everyone; the chains of nobles were simply tied in such a way that shirking from duty usually brought about your doom of yourself and harmed the country. Far too many nobles were awaiting such judgment either here or in the next life.

In that way only a vagrant lived truly free.

Harry Potter shrugged his shoulders as he lounged casually about, unaware or uncaring of her inner turmoil.

"Nothing, I guess." Harry said as if no careful thought had been given into it. "I actually like it here. It might sound strange, but I'm kind of fond of magic schools. And I won't have much luck finding a way home on the countryside."

"Very well," Louise said as aloof as she could as not to give herself away, but she couldn't fight off the smile that crept up her face. "You'll stay then? That is good, I suppose. Will you keep helping around with your magic too?"

"That seems fair," Harry said. "About that, I actually have an idea I want to try. You see, I tried using your wand and then something weird happened. So I would like to try a few things out."

"Sure, but we might have to push it back a little." Louise said. "We'll be busy tomorrow."

"Eh, why?" Harry asked, confused.

"We'll go talk with the headmaster tomorrow about your situation here. But more importantly, I think it is high time we went shopping."

"Ahh," Harry could only say.

* * *

Albus Dumbledore briskly walked through the halls of the Ministry of Magic. These days, Dumbledore was a busy man, despite having mostly delegated matters pertaining to Hogwarts to McGonagall, his upcoming successor as headmistress at said school; He hadn't even had time to make the change official yet. That was partly why he was here today.

He had a meeting with the minister of magic, Cornelius Fudge. Minister Fudge was a pleasant fellow in Dumbledore's own opinion, though he was as utterly unfit for his position as the next head of state. As a redeeming quality, he earnestly wanted to do what was best for everyone involved and tried to surround himself with important and knowledgeable people, such as Dumbledore himself. Unfortunately, he also took rather well to manipulation, which was entirely unfitting for a man of his station, although Albus sometimes used it to his advantage, the cons outweighed the pros because of a single man. Lucius Malfoy was quickly becoming the real power in office, with Fudge deferring less and less to the wizened old and now former headmaster in favor of the pureblood aristocrat, who had no scruples in controlling the man more effectively and subtly than any Imperio.

Dumbledore had less stellar views of Lucius. While Fudge was an ignorant populist who had suddenly found himself in a position too large for his mettle, he at least tried to do some overall good, despite how misled he currently was. In contrast Lucius was a self-serving opportunist and a parasite with a manipulative streak as big as, and likely correlated to, his massive fortune and family estate. The man had amassed an astounding amount of political clout, while simultaneously undermining Dumbledore's own sphere of influence, both actions a testament to his skill since Dumbledore hadn't even noticed. As Dumbledore was prone to, he kept underestimating former Hogwarts students as it was hard to reconcile the poisonous snake of Malfoy today, with the snarky but shy first year who had grown into the gallant fourth year who always had a ready answer to a question in class along with a cocksure smirk and a comically shocked expression whenever said answer was wrong.

Albus reasoned he would always hold such a soft spot for former students; thinking of little Lucius as he was today was akin to imagining first year Ron Weasley becoming a Death Eater. Nevertheless, such fanciful thinking made the current Lucius no less dangerous.

A slytherin through and through, Lucius was the foremost reason that when Harry had cried wolf and Dumbledore, believing him, had warned the wizarding world about the return of Voldemort. But the world had turned them away on deaf ears, calling them mad, delusional and worse. Because of that, many innocent people would die needlessly in the initial surprise when the wolf finally decided to come out of the woods.

Said wolf had already begun to gather his former strength. Dumbledore's spy, Severus Snape, had confirmed as much along with Lucius's involvement as part of the reemerging cult of blood purists. Snape's findings, while invaluable, did not bode well for the wizarding world at large.

Dumbledore entered Fudge's private office and was met with exactly what he expected. Minister Fudge was seated behind a heavy oak desk with Lucius Malfoy standing slightly behind him to his left. There was no seating available for Dumbledore, a clear ploy to exude control and power to any visitor and rather childish in Dumbledore's opinion. Rather than remark on it, he conjured his own chair, far surpassing that of Fudge's own in quality, as if it was the most natural thing in the world and sat nonchalantly as if his impressive display of magic was nothing special; Albus could be childish too.

Having turned the tables on the impressionable younglings in a suitable fashion, Albus could begin the meeting, announcing his intent to recede from the position as headmaster and instate McGonagall in his place.

Besides a moment of surprise it went rather as expected. They asked why; Albus said it was because of Voldemort and a heated debate broke out. Somewhere along the line Fudge brought up that he'd send a supervisor to Hogwarts to oversee the transfer of responsibilities and ensure the quality of Hogwarts. It was an obvious ploy to get more influence on Hogwarts.

Any further debate on the topic was deemed pointless by both sides. However Dumbledore had one other declaration to make. It was a gamble to reveal this piece of information, but it was a necessary one, as the order needed to know whether Voldemort had anything to do with Harry's disappearance. This was the first step in ascertaining that info. If he had a hand in it, then it spelled a grave future for the wizarding world.

"There's one more thing minister. I've only just gotten word of it, but it appears that Harry Potter has disappeared." Dumbledore said seriously. With the shock applied, it gave way to the tricky part of gauging their reactions.

Fudge was suitably surprised, but Dumbledore ignored him in favor of boring into the eyes of Lucius Malfoy. The head of the Malfoy family seemed to deign surprise, whether it was a facade could never be known. He might act surprised more out of social instinct than any real emotion.

But Lucius's mind was wide open to Dumbledore. While Dumbledore had underestimated Lucius, the same thing happened in reverse. Lucius was a politician first and a wizard second. His life and world was on said stage. His mistake was that he thought of all his opponents as creatures of the same sort. He'd already crippled Dumbledore's base of influence, so for most intents and purposes, Dumbledore was out of the picture.

But Dumbledore was a wizard first and a good one at that. The art of Legilimency was not out of his reach. The skill of reading the mind was a useful one and only required direct eye contact. The counter to this discipline, occlumency, was mastered only by few and Lucius was not one of them. After all, why learn a counter to an art only the fewest have heard of, that only a fraction of said wizards ever master.

Such a skill was a large investment and highly situational. It could however mean the difference between keeping your secrets and giving away everything; like in this one.

So while Lucius's face was a perfect façade of mock surprise and worry, his real mind was a completely open avenue of attack.

Later, after the meeting Dumbledore had to sit down and ponder for a moment.

Lucius knew absolutely nothing of Harry's disappearance and it was unlikely that Voldemort did either; but now they certainly knew for sure. Snape would have to confirm how Voldemort reacted to the news.

In a way it was all strangely encouraging to Dumbledore. Where ever Harry Potter was, he might still stand a chance of getting back. But it begged the question; where in the world was he then?

* * *

A/N: Thank you for reading after such a long time! I've rewritten most of the earlier chapters as of a few weeks ago and added for around ~3k words in total, which totals for around half a chapter. The plotline haven't changed and you haven't missed anything vital so there's no need to reread the whole thing, but I personally like it better. I hope this chapter reads your standards.


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